diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/7wwrt10.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/7wwrt10.txt | 9080 |
1 files changed, 9080 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/7wwrt10.txt b/old/7wwrt10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..38c02ab --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7wwrt10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9080 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Who Wrote the Bible?, by Washington Gladden + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Who Wrote the Bible? + +Author: Washington Gladden + +Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6928] +[This file was first posted on February 12, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? *** + + + + +Curtis A. Weyant, Charles Franks, and the Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? + +BY + +WASHINGTON GLADDEN + + + +CONTENTS. + + I. A LOOK INTO THE HEBREW BIBLE + II. WHAT DID MOSES WRITE? + III. SOURCES OF THE PENTATEUCH + IV. THE EARLIER HEBREW HISTORIES + V. THE HEBREW PROPHECIES + VI. THE LATER HEBREW HISTORIES + VII. THE POETICAL BOOKS +VIII. THE EARLIER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS + IX. THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS + X. NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND PROPHECY + XI. THE CANON + XII. HOW THE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN +XIII. HOW MUCH IS THE BIBLE WORTH? + + + + +WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A LOOK INTO THE HEBREW BIBLE. + + + +The aim of this volume is to put into compact and popular form, for the +benefit of intelligent readers, the principal facts upon which scholars +are now generally agreed concerning the literary history of the Bible. +The doctrines taught in the Bible will not be discussed; its claims to a +supernatural origin will not be the principal matter of inquiry; the +book will concern itself chiefly with those purely natural and human +agencies which have been employed in writing, transcribing, editing, +preserving, transmitting, translating, and publishing the Bible. + +The writer of this book has no difficulty in believing that the Bible +contains supernatural elements. He is ready to affirm that other than +natural forces have been employed in producing it. It is to these +superhuman elements in it that reference and appeal are most frequently +made. But the Bible has a natural history also. It is a book among +books. It is a phenomenon among phenomena. Its origin and growth in this +world can be studied as those of any other natural object can be +studied. The old apple-tree growing in my garden is the witness to me of +some transcendent truths, the shrine of mysteries that I cannot unravel. +What the life is that was hidden in the seed from which it sprang, and +that has shaped all its growth, coordinating the forces of nature, and +producing this individual form and this particular variety of fruit,-- +this I do not know. There are questions here that no man of science can +answer. Life in the seed of the apple as well as in the soul of man is a +mystery. But there are some things about the apple-tree that may be +known. I may know--if any one has been curious enough to keep the +record--when the seed was planted, when the shoot first appeared above +the ground, how many branches it had when it was five years old, how +high it was when it was ten years old, when this limb and that twig were +added, when the first blossom appeared, when that branch was grafted and +those others were trimmed off. All this knowledge I may have gained; and +in setting forth these facts, or such as these, concerning the natural +history of the tree, I do not assume that I am telling all about the +life that is in it. In like manner we may study the origin and growth of +the Bible without attempting to decide the deeper questions concerning +the inspiration of its writers and the meaning of the truths they +reveal. + +That the Bible has a natural as well as a supernatural history is +everywhere assumed upon its pages. It was written as other books are +written, and it was preserved and transmitted as other books are +preserved and transmitted. It did not come into being in any such +marvelous way as that in which Joseph Smith's "Book of Mormon," for +example, is said to have been produced. The story is, that an angel +appeared to Smith and told him where he would find this book; that he +went to the spot designated, and found in a stone box a volume six +inches thick, composed of thin gold plates, eight inches by seven, held +together by three gold rings; that these plates were covered with +writing in the "Reformed Egyptian" tongue, and that with this book were +"the Urim and the Thummim," a pair of supernatural spectacles, by means +of which he was able to read _and translate_ this "Reformed +Egyptian" language. This is the sort of story which has been believed, +in this nineteenth century, by tens of thousands of Mormon votaries. +Concerning the books of the Bible no such astonishing stories are told. +Nevertheless some good people seem inclined to think that if such +stories are not told, they might well be; they imagine that the Bible +must have originated in a manner purely miraculous; and though they know +very little about its origin, they conceive of it as a book that was +written in heaven in the English tongue, divided there into chapters and +verses, with head lines and reference marks, printed in small pica, +bound in calf, and sent down to earth by angels in its present form. +What I desire to show is, that the work of putting the Bible into its +present form was not done in heaven, but on earth; that it was not done +by angels, but by men; that it was not done all at once, but a little at +a time, the work of preparing and perfecting it extending over several +centuries, and employing the labors of many men in different lands and +long-divided generations. And this history of the Bible as a book, and +of the natural and human agencies employed in producing it, will prove, +I trust, of much interest to those who care to study it. + +Mr. Huxley has written a delightful treatise on "A Piece of Chalk," and +another on "The Crayfish;" a French writer has produced an entertaining +volume entitled "The Story of a Stick;" the books of the Bible, +considered from a scientific or bibliographical point of view, should +repay our study not less richly than such simple, natural objects. + +A great amount of study has been expended of late on the Scriptures, and +the conclusions reached by this study are of immense importance. What is +called the Higher Criticism has been busy scanning these old writings, +and trying to find out all about them. What is the Higher Criticism? It +is the attempt to learn from the Scriptures themselves the truth about +their origin. It consists in a careful study of the language of the +books, of the manners and customs referred to in them, of the historical +facts mentioned by them; it compares part with part, and book with book, +to discover agreements, if they exist, and discrepancies, that they may +be reconciled. This Higher Criticism has subjected these old writings to +such an analysis and inspection as no other writings have ever +undergone. Some of this work has undoubtedly been destructive. It has +started out with the assumption that these books are in no respect +different from other sacred books; that they are no more a revelation +from God than the Zendavesta or the Nibelungen Lied is a revelation from +God; and it has bent its energies to discrediting, in every way, the +veracity and the authority of our Scriptures. But much of this criticism +has been thoroughly candid and reverent, even conservative in its temper +and purpose. It has not been unwilling to look at the facts; but it has +held toward the Bible a devout and sympathetic attitude; it believes it +to contain, as no other book in the world contains, the message of God +to men; and it has only sought to learn from the Bible itself how that +message has been conveyed. It is this conservative criticism whose +leadership will be followed in these studies. No conclusions respecting +the history of these writings will be stated which are not accepted by +conservative scholars. Nevertheless it must be remembered that the +results of conservative scholarship have been very imperfectly reported +to the laity of the churches. Many facts about the Bible are now known +by intelligent ministers of which their congregations do not hear. An +anxious and not unnatural feeling has prevailed that the faith of the +people in the Bible would be shaken if the facts were known. The belief +that the truth is the safest thing in the world, and that the things +which cannot be shaken will remain after it is all told, has led to the +preparation of this volume. + +I have no doubt, however, that some of the statements which follow will +fall upon some minds with a shock of surprise. The facts which will be +brought to light will conflict very sharply with some of the traditional +theories about the Bible. Some of my readers may be inclined to fear +that the foundations of faith are giving way. Let me, at the outset, +request all such to suspend their judgment and read the book through +before they come to such a conclusion. Doubtless it will be necessary to +make some readjustment of theories; to look at the Bible less as a +miraculous and more as a spiritual product; to put less emphasis upon +the letter and more upon the spirit; but after all this is done it may +appear that the Bible is worth more to us than it ever was before, +because we have learned how rightly to value it. + +The word "Bible" is not a biblical word. The Old Testament writings were +in the hands of the men who wrote the books of the New Testament, but +they do not call these writings the Bible; they name them the Scriptures, +the Holy Scriptures, the Sacred Writings, or else they refer to them +under the names that were given to specific parts of them, as the Law, +the Prophets, or the Psalms. Our word Bible comes from a word which +began to be applied to the sacred writings as a whole about four hundred +years after Christ. It is a Greek plural noun, meaning the books, or the +little books. These writings were called by this plural name for about +eight hundred years; it was not till the thirteenth century that they +began to be familiarly spoken of as a single book. This fact, of itself, +is instructive. For though a certain spiritual unity does pervade these +sacred writings, yet they are a collection of books, rather than one +book. The early Christians, who honored and prized them sufficiently, +always spoke of them as "The Books," rather than as "The Book,"--and +their name was more accurate than ours. + +The names Old and New Testament are Bible words; that is to say we find +the names in our English Bibles, though they are not used to describe +these books. Paul calls the old dispensation the old covenant; and that +phrase came into general use among the early Christians as contrasted +with the Christian dispensation which they called the new covenant; +therefore Greek-speaking Christians used to talk about "the books +of the old covenant," and "the books of the new covenant;" and by and by +they shortened the phrase and sometimes called the two collections +simply "Old Covenant" and "New Covenant." When the Latin-speaking +Christians began to use the same terms, they translated the Greek word +"covenant" by the word "testament" which means a will, and which does +not fairly convey the sense of the Greek word. And so it was that these +two collections of sacred writings began to be called The Old Testament +and The New Testament. It is the former of these that we are first to +study. + +When Jesus Christ was on the earth he often quoted in his discourses +from the Jewish Scriptures, and referred to them in his conversations. +His apostles and the other New Testament writers also quote freely from +the same Scriptures, and books of the early Christian Fathers are full +of references to them. What were these Jewish Scriptures? + +At the time when our Lord was on the earth, the sacred writings of the +Jews were collected in two different forms. The Palestinian collection, +so called, was written in the Hebrew language, and the Alexandrian +collection, called the Septuagint, in the Greek. For many years a large +colony of devout and learned Jews had lived in Alexandria; and as the +Greek language was spoken there, and had become their common speech, +they translated their sacred writings into Greek. This translation soon +came into general use, because there were everywhere many Jews who knew +Greek well enough but knew no Hebrew at all. When our Lord was on earth, +the Hebrew was a dead language; it may have been the language of the +temple, as Latin is now the language of the Roman Catholic mass; but the +common people did not understand it; the vernacular of the Palestinian +Jews was the Aramaic, a language similar to the Hebrew, sometimes called +the later Hebrew, and having some such relation to it as the English has +to the German tongue. There is some dispute as to the time when the Jews +lost the use of their own language and adopted the Aramaic; many of the +Jewish historians hold the view that the people who came back from the +captivity to Jerusalem had learned to use the Aramaic as their common +speech, and that the Hebrew Scriptures had to be interpreted when they +were read to them. Others think that this change in language took place +a little later, and that it resulted in great measure from the close +intercourse of the Jews with the peoples round about them in Palestine, +most of whom used the Aramaic. At any rate the change had taken place +before the coming of Christ, so that no Hebrew was then spoken +familiarly in Palestine. When "the Hebrew tongue" is mentioned in the +New Testament it is the Aramaic that is meant, and not the ancient +Hebrew. The Greek, on the other hand, was a living language; it was +spoken on the streets and in the markets everywhere, and many Jews +understood it almost as well as they did their Aramaic vernacular, just +as many of the people of Constantinople and the Levant now speak French +more fluently than their native tongues. The Greek version of the +Scriptures was, for this reason, more freely used by the Jews even in +Palestine than the Hebrew original; it was from the Septuagint that +Christ and his apostles made most of their quotations. Out of three +hundred and fifty citations in the New Testament from the Old Testament +writings about three hundred appear to be directly from the Greek +version made at Alexandria. Between these two collections of sacred +writings, the one written in Hebrew, then a dead language, and the other +in Greek,--the one used by scholars only, and the other by the common +people,--there were some important differences, not only in the +phraseology and in the arrangement of the books, but in the contents +themselves. Of these I shall speak more fully in the following chapters. +It is to the Hebrew collection, which is the original of these writings, +and from which our English Old Testament was translated, that we shall +now give our attention. What were these Hebrew Scriptures of which all +the writers of the New Testament knew, and from which they sometimes +directly quote? + +The contents of this collection were substantially if not exactly the +same as those of our Old Testament, but they were arranged in very +different order. Indeed they were regarded as three distinct groups of +writings, rather than as one book, and the three groups were of +different degrees of sacredness and authority. Two of these divisions +are frequently referred to in the New Testament, as The Law and The +Prophets; and the threefold division is doubtfully hinted at in Luke +xxiv. 44, where our Lord speaks of the predictions concerning himself +which are found in the Law and the Prophets and in the Psalms. + +The first of these holy books of the Jews was, then, THE LAW contained +in the first five books of our Bible, known among us as the Pentateuch, +and called by the Jews sometimes simply "The Law," and sometimes "The +Law of Moses." This was supposed to be the oldest portion of their +Scriptures, and was by them regarded as much more sacred and +authoritative than any other portion. To Moses, they, said, God spake +face to face; to the other holy men much less distinctly. Consequently +their appeal is most often to the law of Moses. + +The group of writings known as "The Prophets" is subdivided into the +Earlier and the Later Prophets. _The Earlier Prophets_ comprise +Joshua, the Judges, the two books of Samuel, counted as one, and the two +books of the Kings, counted also as one. _The Later Prophets_ +comprise Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets, the +last books in our Old Testament,--Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, +Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These +twelve _were counted as one book_; so that there were four volumes +of the earlier and four of the later prophets. Why the Jews should have +called Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and the Kings books of the Prophets is +not clear; perhaps because they were supposed to have been written by +prophets; perhaps because prophets have a conspicuous place in their +histories. This portion of the Hebrew Scriptures, containing the four +historical books named and the fifteen prophetical books (reckoned, +however, as four), was regarded by the Jews as standing next in +sacredness and value to the book of the Law. + +The third group of their Scriptures was known among them as Kethubim, or +Writings, simply. Sometimes, possibly, they called it The Psalms, +because the book of the Psalms was the initial book of the collection. +It consisted of the Psalms, the Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, +Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and +the Chronicles. This group of writings was esteemed by the Jews as less +sacred and authoritative than either of the other two groups; the +authors were supposed to have had a smaller measure of inspiration. +Respecting two or three of these books there was also some dispute among +the rabbis, as to their right to be regarded as sacred Scripture. + +Such, then, were the Hebrew Scriptures in the days of our Lord, and such +was the manner of their arrangement. + +They had, indeed, other books of a religious character, to which +reference is sometimes made in the books of the Bible. In Numbers xxi. +14, 15, we have a brief war song quoted from "The Book of the Wars of +Jehovah," a collection of which we have no other knowledge. In Joshua x. +13, the story of the sun standing still over Gibeon is said to have been +quoted from "The Book of Jasher," and in 2 Samuel i. 18, the beautiful +"Song of the Bow," written by David on the death of Saul and Jonathan, +is said to be contained in the "Book of Jasher." It is evident that this +must have been a collection of lyrics celebrating some of the great +events of Hebrew history. The title seems to mean "The Book of the +Just." The exploits of the worthies of Israel probably furnished its +principal theme. + +In 1 Chronicles xxix. 29, we read: "Now the acts of David the king, +first and last, behold they are written in the History of Samuel the +Seer, and in the History of Nathan the Prophet, and in the History of +Gad the Seer." There is no reason to doubt that the first named of these +is the history contained in the books of Samuel in our Bible; but the +other two books are lost. We have another reference to the "History of +Nathan," in 2 Chronicles ix. 29,--the concluding words of the sketch of +King Solomon's life. "Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and +last, are they not written in the History of Nathan the Prophet, and in +the Prophecy of Abijah the Shilonite, and in the Visions of Iddo the +Seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?" Here are two more books of +which we have no other knowledge; their titles quoted upon the page of +this chronicle are all that is left of them. A similar reference, in the +last words of the sketch of Solomon's son Rehoboam, gives us our only +knowledge of the "Histories of Shemaiah the Prophet." + +In the Kings and in the Chronicles, reference is repeatedly made to the +"Books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel," and the "Books of the +Chronicles of the Kings of Judah," under which titles volumes that are +now lost are brought to our notice. Undoubtedly much of the history in +the biblical books of Kings and Chronicles was derived from these +ancient annals. They are the sources from which the writers of these +books drew their materials. + +We are also told in 2 Chronicles xxvi. 22, that Isaiah wrote a history +of the "Acts of Uzziah," which is wholly lost. + +Other casual references are made to historical writings of various +sorts, composed by prophets and seers, and thus apparently accredited by +the biblical writers as authoritative utterances of divine truth. Why +were they suffered to perish? Has not Emerson certified us that + + "One accent of the Holy Ghost + The heedless world has never lost"? + +But this is a fond exaggeration. Mr. Emerson was certainly not himself +inspired when he uttered it. Many and many an accent of the Holy Ghost +has been lost by this heedless world. And it is not at all improbable +that some of these histories of Nathan and Gad and Shemaiah held vital +and precious truth,--truth that the world has needed. The very fact that +they are hopelessly lost raises some curious questions about the method +of revelation. Is it to be supposed that the Providence which suffers +whole books to be lost by men would infallibly guarantee those that +remain against errors in the copies, and other imperfections? As a +matter of fact, we know that He has not so protected any of them. + +Still I doubt not that Providence has kept for us the best of this +Hebrew literature. To say that it is the best literature that the world +has produced is to say very little. It is separated widely from all +other sacred writings. Its constructive ideas are as far above those of +the other books of religion as the heavens are above the earth. I pity +the man who has had the Bible in his hand from his infancy, and who has +learned in his maturer years something of the literature of the other +religions, but who now needs to have this statement verified. True it is +that we find pure maxims, elevated thoughts, genuine faith, lofty +morality, in many of the Bibles of the other races. True it is that in +some of them visions are vouchsafed us of the highest truths of +religion, of the very substance of the gospel of the Son of God. But +when we take the sacred books of the other religions in their entirety, +and compare them with the sacred writings of the Hebrews, the +superiority of these in their fundamental ideas, in the conceptions that +dominate them, in the grand uplifting visions and purposes that vitalize +them, can be felt by any man who has any discernment of spiritual +realities. It is in these great ideas that the value of these writings +consists, and not in any petty infallibility of phrase, or inerrancy of +statement. They are the record, as no other book in the world is a +record, of that increasing purpose of God which runs through the ages. +I hope that it will appear as the result of our studies, that one may +continue to reverence the Scriptures as containing a unique and special +revelation from God to men, and yet clearly see and frankly acknowledge +the facts concerning their origin, and the human and fallible elements +in them, which are not concealed, but lie upon their very face. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +WHAT DID MOSES WRITE? + + + +We are now to study the first five books of the Bible, known as the +Pentateuch. This word "Pentateuch" is not in the Bible; it is a Greek +word signifying literally the Five-fold Work; from _penta_, five, +and _teuchos_, which in the later Greek means roll or volume. + +The Jews in the time of our Lord always considered these five books as +one connected work; they called the whole sometimes "Torah," or "The +Law," sometimes "The Law of Moses," sometimes "The Five-fifths of the +Law." It was originally one book, and it is not easy to determine at +what time its division into five parts took place. + +Later criticism is also inclined to add to the Pentateuch the Book of +Joshua, and to say that the first six books of the Bible were put into +their present form by the same hand. "The Hexateuch," or Six-fold Work, +has taken the place in these later discussions of the Pentateuch, or +Five-fold Work. Doubtless there is good reason for the new +classification, but it will be more convenient to begin with the +traditional division and speak first of the five books reckoned by the +later Jews as the "Torah," or the Five-fifths of the Law. + +Who wrote these books? Our modern Hebrew Bibles give them the general +title, _"Quinque Libri Mosis_." This means "The Five Books of +Moses." But Moses could never have given them this title, for these are +Latin words, and it is not possible that Moses should have used the +Latin language because there was no Latin language in the world until +many hundreds of years after the day of Moses. The Latin title was given +to them, of course, by the editors who compiled them. The preface and +the explanatory notes in these Hebrew Bibles are also written in Latin. + +But over this Latin title in the Hebrew Bible is the Hebrew word +"Torah." This was the name by which these books were chiefly known among +the Jews; it signifies simply "The Law." This title gives us no +information, then, concerning the authorship of these books. + +When we look at our English Bibles we find no separation, as in the +Hebrew Bible, of these five books from the rest of the Old Testament +writings, but we find over each one of them a title by which it is +ascribed to Moses as its author,--"The First Book of Moses, commonly +called Genesis;" "The Second Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus;" and +so on. But when I look into my Hebrew Bible again no such title is +there. Nothing is said about Moses in the Hebrew title to Genesis. + +It is certain that if Moses wrote these books he did not call them +"Genesis," "Exodus," "Leviticus," "Numbers," "Deuteronomy;" for these +words, again, come from languages that he never heard. Four of them are +Greek words, and one of them, Numbers, is a Latin word. These names were +given to the several books at a very late day. What are their names in +the Hebrew Bible? Each of them is called by the first word, or some of +the first words in the book. The Jews were apt to name their books, as +we name our hymns, by the initial word or words; thus they called the +first of these five books, "Bereshith," "In the Beginning;" the second +one "Veelleh Shemoth," "Now these are the names;" the third one +"Vayikra," "And he called," and so on. The titles in our English Bible +are much more significant and appropriate than these original Hebrew +titles; thus Genesis signifies origin, and Genesis is the Book of +Origins; Exodus means departure, and the book describes the departure of +Israel from Egypt; Leviticus points out the fact that the book is mainly +occupied with the Levitical legislation; Numbers gives a history of the +numbering of the people, and Deuteronomy, which means the second law, +contains what seems to be a recapitulation and reenactment of the +legislation of the preceding books. But these English titles, which are +partly translated and partly transferred to English from older Latin and +Greek titles, tell us nothing trustworthy about the authorship of the +books. + +How, then, you desire to know, did these books come to be known as the +books of Moses? + +"They were quoted," answer some, "and thus accredited by our Lord and +his apostles. They are frequently mentioned in the New Testament as +inspired and authoritative books; they are referred to as the writings +of Moses; we have the testimony of Jesus Christ and of his apostles to +their genuineness and authenticity." Let us see how much truth this +answer contains. It confronts us with a very important matter which may +as well be settled before we go on. + +It is true, to begin with, that Jesus and the Evangelists do quote from +these books, and that they ascribe to Moses some of the passages which +they quote. The soundest criticism cannot impugn the honesty or the +intelligence of such quotations. There is good reason, as we shall see, +for believing that a large part of this literature was written in the +time of Moses, and under the eye of Moses, if not by his hand. In a +certain important sense, which will be clearer to us as we go on, this +literature is all Mosaic. The reference to it by the Lord and his +apostles is therefore legitimate. + +But this reference does by no means warrant the sweeping conclusion that +the five books of the law were all and entire from the pen of the +Lawgiver. Our Lord nowhere says that the first five books of the Old +Testament were all written by Moses. Much less does he teach that the +contents of these books are all equally inspired and authoritative. +Indeed he quotes from them several times for the express purpose of +repudiating their doctrines and repealing their legislation. In the very +fore-front of his teaching stands a stern array of judgments in which +undoubted commandments of the Mosaic law are expressly condemned and set +aside, some of them because they are inadequate and superficial, some of +them because they are morally defective. "Ye have heard that it was said +to them of old time" thus and thus; "but I say unto you"--and then +follow words that directly contradict the old legislation. After quoting +two of the commandments of the Decalogue and giving them an +interpretation that wholly transforms them, he proceeds to cite several +old laws from these Mosaic books, in order to set his own word firmly +against them. One of these also is a law of the Decalogue itself. There +can be little doubt that the third commandment is quoted and criticised +by our Lord, in this discourse. That commandment forbids, not chiefly +profanity, but perjury; by implication it permits judicial oaths. And +Jesus expressly forbids judicial oaths. "Swear not at all." I am aware +that this is not the usual interpretation of these words, but I believe +that it is the only meaning that the words will bear. Not to insist upon +this, however, several other examples are given in the discourse +concerning which there can be no question. + +Jesus quotes the law of divorce from Deuteronomy xxiv. 1,2. "When a man +taketh a wife and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favour +in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he +shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send +her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house she may +go and be another man's wife." These are the words of a law which Moses +is represented as uttering by the authority of Jehovah. This law, as +thus expressed, Jesus Christ unqualifiedly repeals. "I say unto you that +every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of +fornication, maketh her an adulteress, and whosoever shall marry her +when she is put away committeth adultery." + +The law of revenge is treated in the same way. "Ye have heard that it +was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Who said this? Was +it some rabbin of the olden time? It was Moses; nay, the old record says +that this is the word of the Lord by Moses: "The Lord spake unto Moses, +saying [among other things], If a man cause a blemish in his neighbor, +as he hath done so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for +eye, tooth for tooth; as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it +be rendered unto him." (Lev. xxiv. 19,20.) So in Exodus xxi. 24, "Thou +shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, +burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." It is +sometimes said that these retaliations were simply permitted under the +Mosaic law, but this is a great error; they were enjoined: "Thine eye +shall not pity," it is said in another place (Deut. xix. 21); "life +shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for +foot." This law of retaliation is an integral part of the moral +legislation of the Pentateuch. It is no part of the ceremonial law; it +is an ethical rule. It is clearly ascribed to Moses; it is distinctly +said to have been enacted by command of God. But Christ in the most +unhesitating manner condemns and countermands it. + +"Ye have heard," he continues, "that it was said, Thou shalt love thy +neighbor and hate thine enemy; but I say unto you, Love your enemies, +and pray for them that persecute you." "But this," it is objected, "is +not a quotation from the Old Testament. These words do not occur in that +old legislation." At any rate Jesus introduces them with the very same +formula which he has all along been applying to the words which he has +quoted from the Mosaic law. It is evident that he means to give the +impression that they are part of that law. He is not careful in any of +these cases to quote the exact words of the law, but he does give the +meaning of it. He gives the exact meaning of it here. The Mosaic law +commanded Jews to love their neighbors, members of their own tribe, but +to hate the people of surrounding tribes: "An Ammonite or a Moabite +shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth +generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of the +Lord for ever.... Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity +all thy days for ever." (Deut. xxiii. 3-6.) + +"When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest +to possess it, and shalt cast out many nations before thee, ... then +thou shalt utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, +nor show mercy unto them." (Deut. vii. 1,2.) This is the spirit of much +of this ancient legislation; and these laws were, if the record is true, +literally executed, in after times, by Joshua and Samuel, upon the +people of Canaan. And these bloody commands, albeit they have a "Thus +said the Lord" behind every one of them, Jesus, in the great discourse +which is the charter of his kingdom, distinctly repeals. + +Such is the method by which our Lord sometimes deals with the Old +Testament. It is by no means true that he assumes this attitude toward +all parts of it. Sometimes he quotes Lawgiver and Prophets in +confirmation of his own words; often he refers to these ancient +Scriptures as preparing the way for his kingdom and foreshadowing his +person and his work. Nay, he even says of that law which we are now +studying that not one jot or tittle shall in any wise pass from it till +all things be accomplished. What he means by that we shall be able by +and by to discover. But these passages which I have cited make it clear +that Jesus Christ cannot be appealed to in support of the traditional +view of the nature of these old writings. + +The common argument by which Christ is made a witness to the +authenticity and infallible authority of the Old Testament runs as +follows: + +Christ quotes Moses as the author of this legislation; therefore Moses +must have written the whole Pentateuch. + +Moses was an inspired prophet; therefore all the teaching of the +Pentateuch must be infallible. + +The facts are, that Jesus nowhere testifies that Moses wrote the whole +of the Pentateuch; and that he nowhere guarantees the infallibility +either of Moses or of the book. On the contrary, he sets aside as +inadequate or morally defective certain laws which in this book are +ascribed to Moses. + +It is needful, thus, on the threshold of our argument, to have a clear +understanding respecting the nature of the testimony borne by our Lord +and his apostles to this ancient literature. It is upon this that the +advocates of the traditional view of the Old Testament wholly rely. +"Christ was authority," they say; "the New Testament writers were +inspired; you all admit this; now Christ and the New Testament writers +constantly quote the Scriptures of the Old Testament as inspired and as +authoritative. Therefore they must be the infallible word of God." To +this it is sufficient to reply, Christ and the apostles do quote the Old +Testament Scriptures; they find a great treasure of inspired and +inspiring truth in them, and so can we; they recognize the fact that +they are organically related to that kingdom which Christ came to found, +and that they record the earlier stages of that great course of +revelation which culminates in Christ; but they nowhere pronounce any of +these writings free from error; there is not a hint or suggestion +anywhere in the New Testament that any of the writings of the Old +Testament are infallible; and Christ himself, as we have seen, clearly +warns his disciples that they do not even furnish a safe rule of moral +conduct. After this, the attempt to prove the inerrancy of the Old +Testament by summoning as witnesses the writers of the New Testament may +as well be abandoned. + +But did not Jesus say, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye +have eternal life, and they are they that testify of me?" Well, if he +had said that, it would not prove that the Scriptures they searched were +errorless. The injunction would have all the force to-day that it ever +had. One may very profitably study documents which are far from +infallible. This was not, however, what our Lord said. If you will look +into your Revised Version you will see that his words, addressed to the +Jews, are not a command but an assertion: "Ye search the Scriptures, for +in them ye think ye have eternal life" (John v. 39); if you searched +them carefully you would find some testimony there concerning me. It is +not an injunction to search the Scriptures; it is simply the statement +of the fact that the Jews to whom he was speaking did search the +Scriptures, and searched them as many people in our own time do, to very +little purpose. + +But does not Paul say, in his letter to Timothy, that "All Scripture is +given by inspiration of God?" No, Paul does not say that. Look again at +your Revised Version (2 Tim. iii. 16): "Every Scripture inspired of God +is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for +instruction, which is in righteousness." Every writing inspired of God +is profitable reading. That is the whole statement. + +But Paul says in the verses preceding, that Timothy had known from a +child the Sacred Writings which were able to make him wise unto +salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Was there not, then, in his +hands, a volume or collection of books, known as the Sacred Writings, +with a definite table of contents; and did not Paul refer to this +collection, and imply that all these writings were inspired of God and +profitable for the uses specified? + +No, this is not the precise state of the case. These Sacred Writings had +not at this time been gathered into a volume by themselves, with a fixed +table of contents. What is called the Canon of the Old Testament had not +yet been finally determined.[Footnote: See chapter xi] There were, +indeed, as we saw in the last chapter, two collections of sacred +writings, one in Hebrew and the other in Greek. The Hebrew collection +was not at this time definitely closed; there was still a dispute among +the Palestinian Jews as to whether two or three of the books which it +now contains should go into it; that dispute was not concluded until +half a century after the death of our Lord. The other collection, as I +have said, was in the Greek language, and it included, not only our Old +Testament books, but the books now known as the Old Testament Apocrypha. +This was the collection, remember, most used by our Lord and his +apostles. Which of these collections was in the hands of Timothy we do +not certainly know. But the father of Timothy was a Greek, though his +mother was a Jewess; and it is altogether probable that he had studied +from his childhood the Greek version of the Old Testament writings. +Shall we understand Paul, then, as certifying the authenticity and +infallibility of this whole collection? Does he mean to say that the +"Story of Susanna" and "Bel and the Dragon," and all the rest of these +fables and tales, are profitable for teaching and instruction in +righteousness? This text, so interpreted, evidently proves too much. +Doubtless Paul did mean to commend to Timothy the Old Testament +Scriptures as containing precious and saving truth. But we must not +force his language into any wholesale indorsement of every letter and +word, or even of every chapter and book of these old writings. + +So far, therefore, as our Lord himself and his apostles are concerned, +we have no decisive judgment either as to the authorship of these old +writings or as to their absolute freedom from error. They handled these +Scriptures, quoted from them, found inspired teaching in them; but the +Scriptures which they chiefly handled, from which they generally quoted, +in which they found their inspired teaching, contained, as we know, +worthless matter. It is not to be assumed that they did not know this +matter to be worthless; and if they knew this, it is not to be asserted +that they intended to place upon the whole of it the stamp of their +approval. + +We have wandered somewhat from the path of our discussion, but it was +necessary in order to determine the significance of those references to +the Old Testament with which the New Testament abounds. The question +before us is, Why do we believe that Moses wrote the five books which +bear his name in our Bibles? We have seen that the New Testament writers +give us no decisive testimony on this point. On what testimony is the +belief founded? + +Doubtless it rests wholly on the traditions of the Jews. Such was the +tradition preserved among them in the time of our Lord. They believed +that Moses wrote every word of these books; that God dictated the +syllables to him and that he recorded them. But the traditions of the +Jews are not, in other matters, highly regarded by Christians. Our Lord +himself speaks more than once in stern censure of these traditions by +which, as he charges, their moral sense was blunted and the law of God +was made of none effect. Many of these old tales of theirs were +extremely childish. One tradition ascribes, as we have seen, to Moses +the authorship of the whole Pentateuch; another declares that when, +during an invasion of the Chaldeans, all the books of the Scripture were +destroyed by fire, Ezra wrote them all out from memory, in an incredibly +short space of time; another tradition relates how the same Ezra one day +heard a divine voice bidding him retire into the field with five swift +amanuenses,--"how he then received a full cup, full as it were of water, +but the color of it was like fire, ... and when he had drank of it, his +heart uttered understanding and wisdom grew in his breast, for his +spirit strengthened his memory, ... and his mouth was opened and shut no +more and for forty days and nights he dictated without stopping till two +hundred and four books were written down." [Footnote: 2 Esdras xiv. See, +also, Stanley's _Jewish Church_, iii, 151.] These fables had wide +currency among the Jews; they were believed by Irenaeus, Tertullian, +Augustine, and others of the great fathers of the Christian Church; but +they are not credited in these days. It is evident that Jewish tradition +is not always to be trusted. We shall need some better reason than this +for believing that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. + +I do not know where else we can go for information except to the books +themselves. A careful examination of them may throw some light upon the +question of their origin. A great multitude of scholars have been before +us in their examination; what is their verdict? + +First we have the verdict of the traditionalists,--those, I mean, who +accept the Jewish tradition, and believe with the rabbins that Moses +wrote the whole of the first five books of the Bible. Some who hold this +theory are ready to admit that there may be a few verses here and there +interpolated into the record by later scribes; but they maintain that +the books in their substance and entirety came in their present form +from the hands of Moses. This is the theory which has been generally +received by the Christian church. It is held to-day by very few eminent +Christian scholars. + +Over against this traditional theory is the theory of the radical and +destructive critics that Moses wrote nothing at all; that perhaps the +ten commandments were given by him, but hardly anything more; that these +books were not even written in the time of Moses, but hundreds of years +after his death. Moses is supposed to have lived about 1400 B.C.; these +writings, say the destructive critics, were first produced in part about +730 B.C., but were mainly written after the Exile (about 444 B.C.), +almost a thousand years after the death of Moses. "Strict and impartial +investigation has shown," says Dr. Knappert, "that ... nothing in the +whole Law really comes from Moses himself except the ten commandments. +And even these were not delivered by him in the same form as we find +them now." [Footnote: _The Religion of Israel_, p. 9.] This is, to +my mind, an astounding statement. It illustrates the lengths to which +destructive criticism can go. And I dare say that we shall find in our +study of these books reason for believing that such views as these are +as far astray on the one side as those of the traditionalists are on the +other. + +Let us test these two theories by interrogating the books themselves. + +First, then, we find upon the face of the record several reasons for +believing that the books cannot have come, in their present form, from +the hand of Moses. + +Moses died in the wilderness, before the Israelites reached the Promised +Land, before the Canaanites were driven out, and the land was divided +among the tribes. + +It is not likely that he wrote the account of his own death and burial +which we find in the last chapter of Deuteronomy. There are those, it is +true, who assert that Moses was inspired to write this account of his +own funeral; but this is going a little farther than the rabbins; they +declare that this chapter was added by Joshua. It is conceivable that +Moses might have left on record a prediction that he would die and be +buried in this way; but the Spirit of the Lord could never inspire a man +to put in the past tense a plain narrative of an event which is yet in +the future. The statement when written would be false, and God is not +the author of falsehood. + +It is not likely either that Moses wrote the words in Exodus xi. 3: +"Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the +sight of all the people;" nor those in Numbers xii. 3: "Now the man +Moses was very meek above all the men which were on the face of the +earth." It has been said, indeed, that Moses was directed by inspiration +to say such things about himself; but I do not believe that egotism is a +supernatural product; men take that in the natural way. + +Other passages show upon the face of them that they must have been added +to these books after the time of Moses. It is stated in Exodus xvi. 35, +that the Israelites continued to eat manna until they came to the +borders of the land of Canaan. But Moses was not living when they +entered that land. + +In Genesis xii. 6, in connection with the story of Abraham's entrance +into Palestine, the historical explanation is thrown in: "And the +Canaanite was then in the land." It would seem that this must have been +written at a day when the Canaanite was no longer in the land,--after +the occupation of the land and the expulsion of the Canaanites. In +Numbers xv. 32, an incident is related which is prefaced by the words, +"While the children of Israel were in the wilderness." Does not this +look back to a past time? Can we imagine that this was written by Moses? +Again, in Deuteronomy iii. 11, we have a description of the bedstead of +Og, one of the giants captured and killed by the Israelites, just before +the death of Moses; and this bedstead is referred to as if it were an +antique curiosity; the village is mentioned in which it is kept. In +Genesis xxxvi. we find a genealogy of the kings of Moab, running through +several generations, prefaced with the words: "These are the kings that +reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the +children of Israel." This is looking backward from a day when kings were +reigning over the children of Israel. How could it have been written +five hundred years before there ever was a king in Israel? In Genesis +xiv. 14, we read of the city of Dan; but in Judges xviii. 29, we are +told that this city did not receive its name until hundreds of years +later, long after the time of Moses. Similarly the account of the naming +of the villages of Jair, which we find in Deuteronomy iii. 14, is quite +inconsistent with another account in Judges x. 3, 4. One of them must be +erroneous, and it is probable that the passage in Deuteronomy is an +anachronism. + +Most of these passages could be explained by the admission that the +scribes in later years added sentences here and there by way of +interpretation. But that admission would of course discredit the +infallibility of the books. Other difficulties, however, of a much more +serious kind, present themselves. + +In the first verse of the twentieth chapter of Numbers we read that the +people came to Kadesh in the first month. The first month of what year? +We look back, and the first note of time previous to this is the second +month of the second year of the wandering in the wilderness. Their +arrival at Kadesh described in the twentieth chapter would seem, then, +to have been in the first month of the third year. In the twenty-second +verse of this chapter the camp moves on to Mount Hor, and Aaron dies +there. There is no note of any interval of time whatever; yet we are +told in the thirty-third chapter of this book that Aaron died in the +fortieth year of the wandering. Here is a skip of thirty-eight years in +the history, without an indication of anything having happened meantime. +On the supposition that this is a continuous history written by the man +who was a chief actor in it, such a gap is inexplicable. There is a +reasonable way of accounting for it, as we shall see, but it cannot be +accounted for on the theory that the book in its present form came from +the hand of Moses. + +Some of the laws also bear internal evidence of having originated at a +later day than that of Moses. The law forbidding the removal of +landmarks presupposes a long occupation of the land; and the law +regulating military enlistments is more naturally explained on the +theory that it was framed in the settled period of the Hebrew history, +and not during the wanderings. This may, indeed, have been anticipatory +legislation, but the explanation is not probable. + +Various repetitions of laws occur which are inexplicable on the +supposition that these laws were all written by the hand of one person. +Thus in Exodus xxxiv. 17-26, there is a collection of legal enactments, +all of which can be found, in the same order and almost the same words, +in the twenty-third chapter of the same book. Thus, to quote the summary +of Bleek, we find in both places, (_a_) that all the males shall +appear before Jehovah three times in every year; (_b_) that no +leavened bread shall be used at the killing of the Paschal Lamb, and +that the fat shall be preserved until the next morning; (_c_) that +the first of the fruits of the field shall be brought into the house of +the Lord; (_d_) that the young kid shall not be seethed in its +mother's milk.[Footnote: _Introduction to the Old Testament_, i. +240.] + +We cannot imagine that one man, with a fairly good memory, much less an +infallibly inspired man, should have written these laws twice over, in +the same words, within so small a space, in the same legal document. In +Leviticus we have a similar instance. If any one will take that book and +carefully compare the eighteenth with the twentieth chapter, he will see +some reason for doubting that both chapters could have been inserted by +one hand in this collection of statutes. "It is not probable," as Bleek +has said, "that Moses would have written the two chapters one after the +other, and would so shortly after have repeated the same precepts which +he had before given, only not so well arranged the second time." +[Footnote: _Introduction to the Old Testament_, i. 240.] + +There are also quite a number of inconsistencies and contradictions in +the legislation, all of which may be easily explained, but not on the +theory that the laws all came from the pen of one infallibly inspired +lawgiver. We find also several historical repetitions and historical +discrepancies, all of which make against the theory that Moses is the +author of all this Pentateuchal literature. A single author, if he were +a man of fair intelligence, good common sense, and reasonably firm +memory, could not have written it. And unless tautology, anachronisms, +and contradictions are a proof of inspiration, much less could it have +been written by a single inspired writer. The traditional theory cannot +therefore he true. We have appealed to the books themselves, and they +bear swift witness against it. + +Now let us look at the other theory of the destructive critics which not +only denies that Moses wrote any portion of the Pentateuch, but alleges +that it was written in Palestine, none of it less than six or seven +hundred years after he was dead and buried. + +In the first place the book expressly declares that Moses wrote certain +portions of it. He is mentioned several times as having written certain +historical records and certain words of the law. In Exodus xxiv., we are +told that Moses not only rehearsed to the people the Covenant which the +Lord had made with them, but that he wrote all the words of the Covenant +in a book, and that he took the book of the Covenant and read it in the +audience of all the people. After the idolatry of the people Moses was +again commanded to write these words, "and" it is added, "he wrote upon +the tables the words of the Covenant, the ten commandments." In Exodus +xvii. 14, we are told that Moses wrote the narrative of the defeat of +Amalek in a book; and again in Numbers xxxiii. 21, we read that Moses +recorded the various marches and halts of the Israelites in the +wilderness. We have also in the Book of Deuteronomy (xxxi. 24-26) a +statement that Moses wrote "the words of the law" in a book, and put it +in the ark of the covenant for preservation. Precisely how much of the +law this statement is meant to cover is not clear. Some have interpreted +it to cover the whole Pentateuch, but that interpretation, as we have +seen, is inadmissible. We may concede that it does refer to a body or +code of laws,--probably that body or code on which the legislation of +Deuteronomy is based. + +These are all the statements made in the writings themselves concerning +their origin. They prove, if they are credible, that portions of these +books were written by Moses; they do not prove that the whole of them +came from his hand. + +I see no reason whatever to doubt that this is the essential fact. The +theory of the destructive critics that this literature and this +legislation was all produced in Palestine, about the eighth century +before Christ, and palmed off upon the Jews as a pious fraud, does not +bear investigation. In large portions of these laws we are constantly +meeting with legal provisions and historical allusions that take us +directly back to the time of the wandering in the wilderness, and cannot +be explained on any other theory. "When," says Bleek, "we meet with laws +which refer in their whole tenor to a state of things utterly unknown in +the period subsequent to Moses, and to circumstances existing in the +Mosaic age, and in that only, it is in the highest degree likely that +these laws not only in their essential purport proceeded from Moses, but +also that they were written down by Moses or at least in the Mosaic age. +Of these laws which appear to carry with them such clear and exact +traces of the Mosaic age, there are many occurring, especially in +Leviticus, and also in Numbers and Exodus, which laws relate to +situations and surrounding circumstances only existing whilst the +people, as was the case in Moses' time, wandered in the wilderness and +were dwellers in the close confinement of camps and tents." [Footnote: +Vol. i. p. 212.] It is not necessary to draw out this evidence at +length; I will only refer to a few out of scores of instances. The first +seven chapters of Leviticus, containing laws regulating the burnt +offerings and meat offerings, constantly assume that the people are in +the camp and in the wilderness. The refuse of the beasts offered in +sacrifice was to be carried out of the camp to the public ash heap, and +burned. The law of the Great Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi.) is also full +of allusions to the fact that the people were in camp; the scapegoat was +to be driven into the wilderness, and the man who drove it out was to +wash his clothes and bathe, and afterward come into the camp; the +bullock and the goat, slain for the sacrifice, were to be carried forth +without the camp; he who bears them forth must also wash himself before +he returns to the camp. Large parts of the legislation concerning +leprosy are full of the same incidental references to the fact that the +people were dwelling in camp. + +There are also laws requiring that all the animals killed for food +should be slaughtered before the door of the Tabernacle. There was a +reason for this law; it was intended to guard against a debasing +superstition; but how would it have been possible to obey it when the +people were scattered all over the land of Palestine? It was adapted +only to the time when they were dwelling in a camp in the wilderness. + +Besides, it must not be overlooked that in all this legislation "the +priests are not at all referred to in general, but by name, as Aaron and +his sons, or the sons of Aaron the priests." + +All the legislation respecting the construction of the tabernacle, the +disposition of it in the camp, the transportation of it from place to +place in the wilderness, the order of the march, the summoning of the +people when camp was to be broken, with all its minute and +circumstantial directions, would be destitute of meaning if it had been +written while the people were living in Palestine, scattered all over +the land, dwelling in their own houses, and engaged in agricultural +pursuits. + +The simple, unforced, natural interpretation of these laws takes us +back, I say, to the time of Moses, to the years of the wandering in the +wilderness. The incidental references to the conditions of the +wilderness life are far more convincing than any explicit statement +would have been. Can any one conceive that a writer of laws, living in +Palestine hundreds of years afterwards, could have fabricated these +allusions to the camp life and the tent life of the people? Such a +novelist did not exist among them; and I question whether Professor +Kuenen and Professor Wellhausen, with all their wealth of imagination, +could have done any such thing. Many of these laws were certainly +written in the time of Moses; and I do not believe that any man was +living in the time of Moses who was more competent to write such laws +than was Moses himself. The conclusion of Bleek seems therefore to me +altogether reasonable: "Although the Pentateuch in its present state and +extent may not have been composed by Moses, and also many of the single +laws therein may be the product of a later age, still the legislation +contained in it is genuinely Mosaic in its entire spirit and character." +[Footnote: Vol. i. p. 221.] We are brought, therefore, in our study, to +these inevitable conclusions: + +1. The Pentateuch could never have been written by any one man, inspired +or otherwise. + +2. It is a composite work, in which many hands have been engaged. The +production of it extends over many centuries. + +3. It contains writings which are as old as the time of Moses, and some +that are much older. It is impossible to tell how much of it came from +the hand of Moses, but there are considerable portions of it which, +although they may have been somewhat modified by later editors, are +substantially as he left them. + +I have said that the Pentateuch is a composite work. In the next chapter +we shall find some curious facts concerning its component parts, and the +way in which they have been put together. And although it did not come +into being in the way in which we have been taught by the traditions of +the rabbins, yet we shall see that it contains some wonderful evidence +of the superintending care of God,--of that continuous and growing +manifestation of his truth and his love to the people of Israel, which +is what we mean by revelation. + +Revelation, we shall be able to understand, is not the dictation by God +of words to men that they may be written down in books; it is rather the +disclosure of the truth and love of God to men in the processes of +history, in the development of the moral order of the world. It is the +Light that lighteth every man, shining in the paths that lead to +righteousness and life. There is a moral leadership of God in history; +revelation is the record of that leadership. It is by no means confined +to words; its most impressive disclosures are in the field of action. +"Thus _did_ the Lord," as Dr. Bruce has said, is a more perfect +formula of revelation than "Thus said the Lord." It is in that great +historical movement of which the Bible is the record that we find the +revelation of God to men. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +SOURCES OF THE PENTATEUCH. + + + +In the last chapter we found evidence that the Pentateuch as it stands +could not have been the work of Moses, though it contains much material +which must have originated in the time of Moses, and is more likely to +have been dictated by him than by any one else; that large portions of +the Mosaic law were of Mosaic authorship; that the entire system of +Levitical legislation grew up from this Mosaic germ, though much of it +appeared in later generations; and that, therefore, the habit of the +Jews of calling it all the law of Moses is easily understood. We thus +discovered in this study that the Pentateuch is a composite book. + +The Christian Church in all the ages has been inclined to pin its faith +to what the rabbins said about the origin of this book, and this is not +altogether surprising; but in these days when testimony is sifted by +criticism we find that the traditions of the rabbins are not at all +trustworthy; and when we go to the Book itself, and ask it to tell us +what it can of the secret of its origin, we find that it has a very +different story to tell from that with which the rabbins have beguiled +us. A careful study of the Book makes it perfectly certain that it is +not the production of any one man, but a growth that has been going on +for many centuries; that it embodies the work of many hands, put +together in an artless way by various editors and compilers. The +framework is Mosaic, but the details of the work were added by reverent +disciples of Moses, the last of whom must have lived and written many +hundred years after Moses' day. + +Some of the evidences of composite structure which lie upon the very +face of the narrative will now come under our notice. It is plain that +the whole of this literature could not have been written by any one man +without some kind of assistance. All the books, except the first, are +indeed a record of events which occurred mainly during the lifetime of +Moses, and of most of which he might have had personal knowledge. But +the story of Genesis goes back to a remote antiquity. The last event +related in that book occurred four hundred years before Moses was born; +it was as distant from him as the discovery of America by Columbus is +from us; and other portions of the narrative, such as the story of the +Flood and the Creation, stretch back into the shadows of the age which +precedes history. Neither Moses nor any one living in his day could have +given us these reports from his own knowledge. Whoever wrote this must +have obtained his materials in one of three ways. + +1. They might have been given to him by direct revelation from God. + +2. He might have gathered them up from oral tradition, from stories, +folk-lore, transmitted from mouth to mouth, and so preserved from +generation to generation. + +3. He might have found them in written documents existing at the time of +his writing. + +The first of these conjectures embodies the rabbinical theory. The later +form of that theory declared, however, that God did not even dictate +while Moses wrote, but simply handed the law, all written and +punctuated, out of heaven to Moses; the only question with these rabbins +was whether he handed it down all at once, or one volume at a time. It +is certain that this is not the correct theory. The repetitions, the +discrepancies, the anachronisms, and the errors which the writing +certainly contains prove that it could not have been dictated, word for +word, by the Omniscient One. Those who maintain such a theory as this +should beware how they ascribe to God the imperfections of men. It seems +to me that the advocacy of the verbal theory of inspiration comes +perilously near to the sin against the Holy Ghost. + +The second conjecture, that the writer of these books might have +gathered up oral traditions of the earlier generations and incorporated +them into his writings, is more plausible; yet a careful examination of +the writings themselves does not confirm this theory. The form of this +literature shows that it must have had another origin. + +The only remaining conjecture, that the books are compilations of +written documents, has been established beyond controversy by the most +patient study of the writings themselves. In the Book of Genesis the +evidence of the combination of two documents is so obvious that he who +runs may read. These two documents are distinguished from each other, +partly by the style of writing, and partly by the different names which +they apply to the Supreme Being. One of these old writers called the +Deity Elohim, the other called him Yahveh, or Jehovah. These documents +are known, therefore, as the Elohistic and the Jehovistic narratives. +Sometimes it is a little difficult to tell where the line runs which +separates these narratives, but usually it is distinct. Readers of +Genesis find many passages in which the name given to the Deity is +"God," and others in which it is "LORD," in small capitals. The first of +these names represents the Hebrew Elohim, the second the Hebrew Yahveh +or Jehovah. In one important section, beginning with the fourth verse of +the second chapter, and continuing through the chapter, the two names +are combined, and we have the Supreme Being spoken of as "The LORD God," +Jehovah-Elohim. It is evident to every observing reader that we have in +the beginning of Genesis two distinct accounts of the Creation, the one +occupying the first chapter and three verses of the second, the other +occupying the remainder of the second chapter with the whole of the +third. The difference between these accounts is quite marked. The style +of the writing, particularly in the Hebrew, is strongly contrasted; and +the details of the story are not entirely harmonious. In the first +narrative the order of creation is, first the earth and its vegetation, +then the lower animals, then man, male and female, made in God's image. +In the second narrative the order is, first the earth and its +vegetation, then man, then the lower orders of animals, then woman. In +the first story plant life springs into existence at the direct command +of God; in the second it results from a mist which rose from the earth +and watered the whole face of the ground. These striking differences +would be hard to explain if we had not before our faces the clear +evidence of two old documents joined together. + +I spoke in the last chapter of certain historical discrepancies which +are not explicable on the supposition that this is the work of a single +writer. Such are the two accounts of the origin of the name of +Beersheba, the one in the twenty-first and the other in the twenty-sixth +chapter of Genesis. The first account says that it was named by Abraham, +and gives the reason why he called the place by this name. The second +account says that it received its name from Isaac, about ninety years +later, and gives a wholly different explanation of the reason why he +called it by this name. When we find that in the first of these stories +God is called Elohim, [Footnote: In the last verse of this narrative the +word Jehovah is used, but this is probably an interpolation.] and in the +second Jehovah, we can readily explain this discrepancy. The compiler +took one of these narratives from one of these old documents, and the +other from the other, and was not careful to reconcile the two. + +A similar duplication of the narrative is found in chapters xx. and +xxvi., with respect to the incident of Abimelech; in the first of these +narratives a serious complication is described as arising between +Abimelech King of Gerar on the one hand and Abraham and Sarah on the +other; in the second Abimelech is represented as interfering, in +precisely the same way and with the same results, in the domestic +felicity of Isaac and Rebekah. The harmonizers have done their work, of +course, upon these two passages; they have said that there were two +Abimelechs, and that Isaac repeated the blunder of his father; but it is +a little singular, if this were so, that no reference is made in the +latter narrative to the former. It is altogether probable that we have +the same story ascribed to different actors; and when we find that the +one narrative is Elohistic and the other Jehovistic, the problem is +solved. + +More curious than any other of these combinations is the account of the +Flood, in which the compiler has taken the narratives of these two old +writers and pieced them together like patchwork. Refer to your Bibles +and note this piece of literary joiner-work. At the fifth verse of the +sixth chapter of Genesis this story begins; from this verse to the end +of the eighth verse the Jehovistic document is used. The name of the +Deity is Jehovah, translated LORD. From the ninth verse to the end of +the chapter the Elohistic document is used. The word applied to God is +Elohim, translated God. With the seventh chapter begins again the +quotation from the other document, "And the LORD [Jehovah] said unto +Noah." This extends only to the sixth verse; then the Elohistic +narrative begins again, and continues to the nineteenth verse of the +eighth chapter, including it; then the Jehovistic narrative begins +again, and continues through the chapter; then the Elohist takes up the +tale for the first seventeen verses of the ninth chapter; then the +Jehovist goes on to the twenty-seventh verse, and the Elohist closes the +chapter. It is true that we have in the midst of some of these Elohistic +passages a verse or two of the other document inserted by the compiler; +but the outlines of the different documents are marked as I have told +you. If you take this story and dissect out of it the portions which I +have ascribed to the Elohist and put them together, you will have a +clear, complete, consecutive story of the Flood; the portions of the +Jehovistic narrative inserted rather tend to confusion. "The +consideration of the context here," says Bleek, "quite apart from the +changes in the naming of God, shows that the Jehovistic passages of the +narrative did not originally belong to it. It cannot fail to be observed +that the connection is often interrupted by the Jehovistic passages, and +that by cutting them out a more valuable and clearer continuity of the +narrative is almost always obtained. For instance, in the existing +narrative certain repetitions keep on occurring; one of these, +especially, is connected with a difference in the matters of fact +related, introducing no slight difficulty and obscurity." [Footnote: +Vol. i. p. 273.] + +Hear the Jehovist: "And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great +in the earth" (ch. vi. 5). Now hear the Elohist (vi. 11): "And the earth +was corrupt before Elohim, and the earth was filled with violence." The +Jehovist says (vi. 7): "And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have +created from the face of the ground." The Elohist says (vi. 13): "The +earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I will destroy +them with the earth." In the ninth verse of the sixth chapter we read: +"Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations; Noah walked +with Elohim." In the first verse of the seventh chapter, we read, "And +Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for +thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." These +repetitions show how the same story is twice told. But the +contradictions are more significant. Here the one narrative represents +Elohim as saying (vi. 19): "And of every living thing of all flesh, two +of every kind shalt thou bring into the ark to keep them alive with +thee; they shall be male and female. Of the fowl after their kind and of +the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after +its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive." +But the other narrative represents Jehovah as saying, "Of every clean +beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and the female; +and of the beasts that are not clean, two, the male and the female; of +the fowl also of the air seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed +alive upon the face of all the earth." The one story says that of every +kind of living creature one pair should be taken into the ark; the other +says that of _clean_ beasts, seven pairs of each species should be +received, and of unclean beasts only one pair. The harmonists have +wrestled with this passage also; some of them say that perhaps the first +passage only meant that they should _walk in_ two and two; others +say that a good many years had elapsed between the giving of the two +commands (of which there is not a particle of evidence), and we are left +to infer that in the mean time the Almighty either forgot his first +orders, or else changed his mind. It is a pitiful instance of an attempt +to evade a difficulty that cannot be evaded. One of the very +conservative commentators, Dr. Perowne, in Smith's "Bible Dictionary," +concludes to face it: "May we not suppose," he timidly asks, "that we +have here traces of a separate document, interwoven by a later writer, +with the former history? The passage has not, indeed, been incorporated +intact, but there is a coloring about it which seems to indicate that +Moses, or whoever put the book of Genesis into its present shape, had +here consulted a different narrative. The distinct use of the divine +names in the same phrase (vi. 22; vii. 5), in the former Elohim, in the +latter Jehovah, suggests that this may have been the case." [Footnote: +Art. "Noah," iii. 2179, American Edition.] + +"May we not suppose," the good doctor asks, that we have traces of two +documents here? Certainly, your reverence. It is just as safe to suppose +it, as it is to suppose, when you see a nose on a man's face, that it is +a nose. There is no more doubt about it than there is about any other +palpable fact. The truth is, that the composite character of Genesis is +no longer, in scholarly circles, an open question. The most cautious, +the most conservative of scholars concede the point. Even President +Bartlett, of Dartmouth College, a Hebraist of some eminence, and as +sturdy a defender of old-fashioned orthodoxy as this country holds, made +this admission more than twenty years ago: "We may accept the traces of +earlier narratives as having been employed and authenticated by him +[Moses]; and we may admit the marks of later date as indications of a +surface revision of authorized persons not later than Ezra and +Nehemiah." And Dr. Perowne, the conservative scholar already quoted, in +the article on the "Pentateuch" in "Smith's Bible Dictionary," sums up +as follows:-- + + "1. The Book of Genesis rests chiefly on documents much earlier than + the time of Moses, though it was probably brought to very nearly + its present shape either by Moses himself, or by one of the + elders who acted under him. + + "2. The books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are to a great extent + Mosaic. Besides those portions which are expressly declared to + have been written by him, other portions, and especially the + legal sections, were, if not actually written, in all probability + dictated by him. + + "3. Deuteronomy, excepting the concluding part, is entirely the work + of Moses, as it professes to be. + + . . . . . . . . . . + + "5. The first _composition_ of the Pentateuch as a whole could + not have taken place till after the Israelites entered Canaan. + + "6. The whole work did not finally assume its present shape till its + revision was undertaken by Ezra after the return from the + Babylonish captivity." + +The volume from which I have quoted these words bears the date of 1870. +Twenty years of very busy work have been expended upon the Pentateuch +since Dr. Perowne wrote these words; if he were to write to-day he would +be much less confident that Moses wrote the whole of Deuteronomy, and he +would probably modify his statements in other respects; but he would +retract none of these admissions respecting the composite character of +these five books. + +The same fact of a combination of different documents can easily be +shown in all the three middle books of the Pentateuch, as well as in +Genesis. This is the fact which explains those repetitions of laws, and +those singular breaks in the history, to which I called your attention +in the last chapter. There is, as I believe, a large element of purely +Mosaic legislation in these books; many of these laws were written +either by the hand of Moses or under his eye; and the rest are so +conformed to the spirit which he impressed upon the Hebrew jurisprudence +that they may be fairly called Mosaic; but many of them, on the other +hand, were written long after his day, and the whole Pentateuch did not +reach its present form until after the exile, in the days of Ezra and +Nehemiah. + +The upholders of the traditional theory--that Moses wrote the +Pentateuch, just as Blackstone wrote his Commentaries--are wont to make +much account of the disagreements of those critics who have undertaken +to analyze it into its component parts. "These critics," they say, "are +all at loggerheads; they do not agree with one another; none of them +even agrees with himself very long; most of them have several times +revised their theories, and there seems to be neither certainty nor +coherency in their speculations." But this is not quite true. With +respect to some subordinate questions they are not agreed, and probably +never will be; but with respect to the fact that these books are +composite in their origin they are perfectly agreed, and they are also +remarkably unanimous in their judgments as to where the lines of +cleavage run between these component parts. The consensus of critical +opinion now is that there are at least four great documents which have +been combined in the Pentateuch; and the critics agree in the main +features of the analysis, though they do not all call these separated +parts by the same names, nor do they all think alike concerning the +relative antiquity of these portions. Some think that one of these +documents is the oldest, and some give that distinction to another; nor +do they agree as to how old the oldest is, some bringing the earliest +composition down to a recent period; but on the main question that the +literature is composite they are at one. The closeness of their +agreement is shown by Professor Ladd in a series of tables [Footnote: +_The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture_, Part II. chap. vii.] in which +he displays to the eye the results of the analysis of four independent +investigators, Knobel, Schrader, Dillmann, and Wellhausen. He goes +through the whole of the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua,--the +Hexateuch, as it is now called,--and picks out of every chapter those +verses assigned by these several authorities to that ancient writing +which we have been calling the Elohistic narrative, and arranges them in +parallel columns. You can see at a glance when they agree in this +analysis, and when they disagree. I think that you would be astonished +to find that the agreements are so many and the disagreements so few. So +much unity of judgment would be impossible if the lines of cleavage +between these old documents were not marked with considerable +distinctness. "The only satisfactory explanation," says Professor Ladd, +"of the possibility of accomplishing such a work of analysis is the fact +that the analysis is substantially correct." [Footnote: _What is the +Bible?_ p. 311.] + +Professor C. A. Briggs, of the Union (Presbyterian) Theological Seminary +in New York, bore this testimony three years ago in the "Presbyterian +Review:" "The critical analysis of the Hexateuch is the result of more +than a century of profound study of the documents by the greatest +critics of the age. There has been a steady advance until the present +position of agreement has been reached, in which Jew and Christian, +Roman Catholic and Protestant, Rationalistic and Evangelical scholars, +Reformed and Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal, Unitarian, Methodist, +and Baptist all concur. The analysis or the Hexateuch into several +distinct original documents is a purely literary question in which no +article of faith is involved. Whoever in these times, in the discussion +of the literary phenomena of the Hexateuch, appeals to the ignorance and +prejudices of the multitude as if there were any peril to faith in these +processes of the Higher Criticism, risks his reputation for scholarship +by so doing. There are no Hebrew professors on the continent of Europe, +so far as I know, who would deny the literary analysis of the Pentateuch +into the four great documents. The professors of Hebrew in the +Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, and tutors in a large +number of theological colleges, hold to the same opinion. A very +considerable number of the Hebrew professors of America are in accord +with them. There are, indeed, a few professional scholars who hold to +the traditional opinion, but these are in a hopeless minority. I doubt +whether there is any question of scholarship whatever in which there is +greater agreement among scholars than in this question of the literary +analysis of the Hexateuch." + +I have but one more witness to introduce, and it shall be the +distinguished German professor Delitzsch, who has long been regarded as +the bulwark of evangelical orthodoxy in Germany. "His name," says +Professor Ladd, "has for many years been connected with the conception +of a devout Christian scholarship used in the defense of the faith +against attacks upon the supernatural character of the Old Testament +religion and of the writings which record its development." In a preface +to his commentary on Isaiah published since his recent death, he speaks +with great humility of the work that he has done, adding, "Of one thing +only do I think I may be confident,--that the spirit by which it is +animated comes from the good Spirit that guides along the everlasting +way." The opinion of such a scholar ought to have weight with all +serious-minded Christians. When I give you his latest word on this +question, you will recognize that you have all that the ripest and most +devout scholarship can claim. Let me quote, then, Professor Ladd's +abstract of his verdict:-- + +"In the opinion of Professor Delitzsch only the basis of the several +codes... incorporated in the Pentateuch is Mosaic; the form in which +these codes... are presented in the Pentateuch is of an origin much +later than the time of Moses. The Decalogue and the laws forming the +Book of the Covenant are the most ancient portions; they preserve the +Mosaic type in its relatively oldest and purest form. Of this type +Deuteronomy _is a development_. The statement that Moses 'wrote' +the Deuteronomic law (Deut. xxxi. 9, 24) _does not refer to the +present Book of Deuteronomy, but to the code of laws which underlies +it_. + +"The Priest's Code, which embodies the more distinctively ritualistic +and ceremonial legislation, is the result of a long and progressive +development. Certain of its principles originated with Moses, but its +form, which is utterly unlike that of the other parts of the Pentateuch, +was received at the hands of the priests of the nation. Probably some +particular priest, at a much later date, indeed, than the time of Moses, +but prior to the composition of Deuteronomy, was especially influential +in shaping it. But the last stages of its development may belong to the +period after the Exile. + +"The historical traditions which are incorporated into the Hexateuch +were committed to writing at different times and by different hands. The +narratives of them are superimposed, as it were, stratum upon stratum, +in the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua. For the Book of Joshua is +connected intimately with the Pentateuch, and when analyzed shows the +same composite structure. The differences which the several codes +exhibit are due to modifications which they received in the course of +history as they were variously collected, revised, and passed from +generation to generation.... The Pentateuch, like all the other +historical books of the Bible, is composed of documentary sources, +differing alike in character and age, which critical analysis may still +be able, with greater or less certainty, to distinguish and separate +from one another." [Footnote: _What is the Bible?_ pp. 489-491.] + +That such is the fact with respect to the structure of these ancient +writings is now beyond question. And our theory of inspiration must be +adjusted to this fact. Evidently neither the theory of verbal +inspiration, nor the theory of plenary inspiration can be made to fit +the facts which a careful study of the writings themselves bring before +us. These writings are not inspired in the sense which we have commonly +given to that word. The verbal theory of inspiration was only tenable +while they were supposed to be the work of a single author. To such a +composite literature no such theory will apply. "To make this claim," +says Professor Ladd, "and yet accept the best ascertained results of +criticism, would compel us to take such positions as the following: The +original authors of each one of the writings which enter into the +composite structure were infallibly inspired; every one who made any +changes in any one of these fundamental writings was infallibly +inspired; every compiler who put together two or more of these writings +was infallibly inspired, both as to his selections and transmissions +[omissions?], and as to any connecting or explanatory words which he +might himself write; every redactor was infallibly inspired to correct +and supplement and omit that which was the product of previous +infallible inspirations. Or perhaps it might seem more convenient to +attach the claim of a plenary inspiration to the last redactor of all; +but then we should probably have selected of all others the one least +able to bear the weight of such a claim. Think of making the claim for a +plenary inspiration of the Pentateuch in its present form on the ground +of the infallibility of that one of the Scribes who gave it its last +touches some time subsequent to the date of Ezra!" [Footnote: _The +Doctrine of Sacred Scripture_, i. 499] + +And yet this does not signify that these books are valueless. When it +was discovered that the Homeric writings were not all the work of Homer, +the value of the Homeric writings was not affected. As pictures of the +life of that remote antiquity they had not lost their significance. The +value of these Mosaic books is of a very different sort from that of the +Homeric writings, but the discoveries of the Higher Criticism affect +them no more seriously. Even their historical character is by no means +overthrown. You can find in Herodotus and in Livy discrepancies and +contradictions, but this does not lead you to regard their writings as +worthless. There are no infallible histories, but that is no reason why +you should not study history, or why you should read all history with +the inclination to reject every statement which is not forced on your +acceptance by evidence which you cannot gainsay. + +These books of Moses are the treasury, indeed, of no little valuable +history. They are not infallible, but they contain a great deal of truth +which we find nowhere else, and which is yet wonderfully corroborated by +all that we do know. Ewald declares that in the fourteenth chapter of +Genesis Abraham is brought before us "in the clear light of history." +From monuments and other sources the substantial accuracy of this +narrative is confirmed; and the account of the visit of Abraham to Egypt +conforms, in all its minute incidents, to the life of Egypt at that +time. The name Pharaoh is the right name for the kings reigning then; +the behavior of the servants of Pharaoh is perfectly in keeping with the +popular ideas and practices as the monuments reveal them. The story of +Joseph has been confirmed, as to its essential accuracy, as to the +verisimilitude of its pictures of Egyptian life, by every recent +discovery. Georg Ebers declares that "this narrative contains nothing +which does not accurately correspond to a court of Pharaoh in the best +times of the Kingdom." Many features of this narrative which a rash +skepticism has assailed have been verified by later discoveries. + +We are told in the Exodus that the Israelites were impressed by Pharaoh +into building for him two store-cities ("treasure cities," the old +version calls them), named Pithom and Rameses, and that in this work they +were made to "serve with rigor;" that their lives were embittered "with +hard service in mortar and brick and all manner of hard service in the +field;" that they were sometimes forced to make brick without straw. The +whereabouts of these store-cities, and the precise meaning of the term +applied to them, has been a matter of much conjecture, and the story has +sometimes been set aside as a myth. To Pithom there is no clear +historical reference in any other book except Exodus. Only four or five +years ago a Genovese explorer unearthed, near the route of the Suez +Canal, this very city; found several ruined monuments with the name of +the city plainly inscribed on them, "Pi Tum," and excavating still +further uncovered a ruin of which the following is Mr. Rawlinson's +description: "The town is altogether a square, inclosed by a brick wall +twenty-two feet thick, and measuring six hundred and fifty feet along +each side. Nearly the whole of the space is occupied by solidly built, +square chambers, divided one from another by brick walls, from eight to +ten feet thick, which are unpierced by window or door or opening of any +kind. About ten feet from the bottom the walls show a row of recesses +for beams, in some of which decayed wood still remains, indicating that +the buildings were two-storied, having a lower room which could only be +entered by a trap-door, used probably as a store-house, or magazine, and +an upper one in which the keeper of the store may have had his abode. +Therefore this discovery is simply that of a 'store-city,' built partly +by Rameses II.; but it further appears from several short inscriptions, +that the name of the city was Pa Tum, or Pithom; and thus there is no +reasonable doubt that one of the two cities built by the Israelites has +been laid bare, and answers completely to the description given of it." +[Footnote: Quoted by Robinson in _The Pharaohs of the Bondage_, p. +97.] + +The walls of Egypt were not all laid with mortar, but the record speaks +of mortar in this case, and here it is: the several courses of these +buildings were usually "laid with mortar in regular tiers." More +striking still is the fact that in some of these buildings, while the +lower tiers are composed of bricks having straw in them, the upper tiers +consist of a poorer quality of bricks without straw. Photographs may be +seen in this country of some of these brick granaries of this old store- +city of Pithom, with the line of division plainly showing between the +two kinds of bricks; and thus we have before our eyes a most striking +confirmation of the truth of this story of the bondage of the Israelites +in Egypt. Quite a number of such testimonies to the substantial +historical verity of these Old Testament records have been discovered in +recent years as old mounds have been opened in Egypt and in Chaldea, and +the monuments of buried centuries have told their story to the wondering +world. The books are not infallible, but he who sets them all aside as a +collection of myths or fables exposes his ignorance in a lamentable way. + +But what is far more to the purpose, the ideas running all through the +old literature, the constructive truths of science, of ethics, of +religion, are pure and lofty and full of saving power. Even science, I +say, owes much to Genesis. The story of the Creation in the first +chapter of Genesis must not indeed be taken for veritable history; but +it is a solemn hymn in which some great truths of the world's origin are +sublimely set forth. It gives us the distinct idea of the unity of +Creation,--sweeping away, at one mighty stroke, the whole system of +naturalistic polytheism, which makes science impossible, when it +declares that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." +In the same words it sets forth the truth by whose light science alone +walks safely, that the source of all things is a spiritual cause. The +God from whose power all things proceed is not a fortuitous concourse of +atoms, but a spiritual intelligence. From this living God came forth +matter with its forces, life with its organisms, mind with its freedom. +And although it may not be possible to force the words of this ancient +hymn into scientific statements of the order of creation, it is most +clear that it implies a continuous process, a law of development, in the +generations of the heaven and the earth. This is not a scientific +treatise of creation, but the alphabet of science is here, as Dr. Newman +Smyth has said; and it is correct. The guiding lights of scientific +study are in these great principles. + +Similarly the ethical elements and tendencies of these old writings are +sound and strong. I have shown you how defective many of the Mosaic laws +are when judged by Christian standards; but all this legislation +contains formative ideas and principles by which it tends to purify +itself. Human sacrifices were common among the surrounding nations; the +story of Abraham and Isaac banishes that horror forever from Hebrew +history. Slavery was universal, but the law of the Jubilee Year made an +end of domestic slavery in Israel. The family was foundationless; the +wife's rights rested wholly on the caprice of her husband; but that law +of divorce which I quoted to you, and which our Lord repealed, set some +bounds to this caprice, for the husband was compelled to go through +certain formalities before he could turn his wife out of doors. The law +of blood vengeance, though in terms it authorized murder, yet in effect +powerfully restrained the violence of that rude age, and gave a chance +for the development of that idea of the sacredness of life which to us +is a moral commonplace, but which had scarcely dawned upon the minds of +those old Hebrews. Thus the history shows a people moving steadily +forward under moral leadership, out of barbarism into higher +civilization, and we can trace the very process by which the moral +maxims which to us are almost axioms have been cleared of the crudities +of passion and animalism, and stamped upon the consciousness of men. Is +not God in all this history? + +Those first principles which I have called the guiding lights of science +are also the elements of pure religion. Science and religion spell out +different messages to men, but they start with the same alphabet. And +the religious purity of that hymn of the Creation is not less wonderful +than its scientific verity. Compare it with the other traditional +stories of the origin of things; compare it with the mythologies of +Egypt, of Chaldea, of Greece and Rome, and see how far above them it +stands in spiritual dignity, in moral beauty. "We could more easily, +indeed," says Dr. Newman Smyth, "compute how much a pure spring welling +up at the source of a brook that widens into a river, has done for +meadow and grass and flowers and overhanging trees, for thousands of +years, than estimate the influence of this purest of all ancient +traditions of the Creation, as it has entered into the lives and revived +the consciences of men; as it has purified countries of idolatries and +swept away superstition; and has flowed on and on with the increasing +truth of history, and kept fresh and fruitful, from generation to +generation, faith in the One God and the common parentage of men." +[Footnote: _Old Faiths in New Light_, p. 73.] + +Above all, we find in all this literature the planting and the first +germination of that great hope which turned the thought of this people +from the earliest generations toward the future, and made them trust and +pray and wait, in darkest times, for better days to come. "Speak unto +the children of Israel that they go forward!" This is the voice that is +always sounding from the heights above them, whether they halt by the +shore of the sea, or bivouac in the wilderness. They do not always obey +the voice, but it never fails to rouse and summon them. No people of all +history has lived in the future as Israel did. "By faith" they worshiped +and trusted and wrought and fought, the worthies of this old religion; +towards lands that they had not seen they set their faces; concerning +things to come they were always prophesying; and it is this great hope +that forms the germ of the Messianic expectation by which they reach +forth to the glories of the latter day. This attitude of Israel, in all +the generations, is the one striking feature of this history. No +soulless sphinx facing a trackless desert with blind eyes--no impassive +Buddha ensphered in placid silence--is the genius of this people, but +some strong angel poised on mighty pinion above the highest peak of +Pisgah, and scanning with swift glances the beauty of the promised land. +Now any people of which this is true must be, in a large sense of the +word, an inspired people; and their literature, with all the signs of +imperfection which must appear in it, on account of the medium through +which it comes, will give proof of the divine ideas and forces that are +working themselves out in their history. + +It is in this large way of looking at the Hebrew literature that we +discover its real preciousness. And when we get this large conception, +then petty questions about the absolute accuracy of texts and dates no +longer trouble us. "He who has once gained this broader view of the +Bible," says Dr. Newman Smyth, "as the development of a course of +history itself guided and inspired by Jehovah, will not be disconcerted +by the confused noises of the critic. His faith in the Word of God lies +deeper than any difficulties or flaws upon the surface of the Bible. He +will not be disturbed by seeing any theory of its mechanical formation, +or school-book infallibility broken to fragments under the repeated +blows of modern investigation; the water of life will flow from the rock +which the scholar strikes with his rod. He can wait, without fear, for a +candid and thorough study of these sacred writings to determine, if +possible, what parts are genuine, and what narratives, if any, are +unhistorical. His belief in the Word of God, from generation to +generation, does not depend upon the minor incidents of the Biblical +stories; it would not be destroyed or weakened, even though human +traditions could be shown to have overgrown some parts of this sacred +history, as the ivy, creeping up the wall of the church, does not loosen +its ancient stones." [Footnote: _Old Faiths in New Light_, p. 59.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE EARLIER HEBREW HISTORIES. + + + +We found reasons, in previous chapters, for believing that considerable +portions of the Levitical legislation came from the hands of Moses, +although the narratives of the Pentateuch and many of its laws were put +into their present form long after the time of Moses. The composite +character of all this old literature has been demonstrated. The fact +that its materials were collected from several sources, by a process +extending through many centuries, and that the work of redaction was not +completed until the people returned from the exile about five centuries +before Christ, and almost a thousand years after the death of Moses, are +facts now as well established as any other results of scholarly +research. + +Nevertheless, we have maintained that the Israelites possessed, when +they entered Canaan, a considerable body of legislation framed under the +eye of Moses and bearing his name. Throughout the Book of Joshua this +legislation is frequently referred to. If the Book of Joshua was, as we +have assumed, originally connected with the first five books, +constituting what is now called the Hexateuch, if these six books were +put into their present form by the same writers, we should expect that +the Mosaic legislation would be clearly traced through all these books. + +But when we go forward in this history we come at once upon a remarkable +fact. The Book of Judges, the Book of Ruth, and the two books of Samuel +cover a period of Jewish history estimated in our common chronology at +more than four hundred years, and in these four books there is no +mention whatever of that Mosaic legislation which constituted, as we +have supposed, the germ of the Pentateuch. The name of Moses is +mentioned only six times in these four books; twice in the early +chapters of the Judges in connection with the settlement of the kindred +of his wife in Canaan; once in a reference to an order given by Moses +that Hebron should be given to Caleb; twice in a single passage in I +Samuel xii., where Moses and Aaron are referred to as leaders of the +people out of Egyptian bondage, and once in Judges iii. 4, where it is +said that certain of the native races were left in Canaan, "to prove +Israel by them, whether they would hearken to the commandments of the +Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses." This last +is the only place in all these books where there is the faintest +allusion to any legislation left to the Israelites by Moses; and this +reference does not make it clear whether the "commandments" referred to +were written or oral. The word "law" is not found in these four books. +There is nothing in any of these books to indicate that the children of +Israel possessed any written laws. There are, indeed, in Ruth and in the +Judges frequent accounts of observances that are enjoined in the +Pentateuch; and in Samuel we read of the tabernacle and the ark and the +offering of sacrifices; the history tells us that some of the things +commanded in the Mosaic law were observed during this period; but when +we look in these books for any reference or appeal to the sacred +writings of Moses, or to any other sacred writings, or to any laws or +statutes or written ordinances for the government of the people, we look +in vain. Samuel the Prophet anointed Saul and afterward David as Kings +of Israel; but if, on these solemn occasions, he said anything about the +writings of Moses or the law of Moses, the fact is not mentioned. The +records afford us no ground for affirming that either Samuel or Saul was +aware of the existence of such sacred writings. + +This is a notable fact. That the written law of Moses should, for four +centuries of Hebrew history, have disappeared so completely from notice +that the historian did not find it necessary to make any allusion to it, +is a circumstance that needs explanation. + +It is true, as I have said, that during this period certain observances +required by the law were kept more or less regularly. But it is also +true that many of the most specific and solemn requirements of the law +were neglected or violated during all these years by the holiest men. +The Mosaic law utterly forbids the offering of sacrifices at any other +place than the central sanctuary, the tabernacle or the temple; but the +narrative of these early historical books shows all the saints and +heroes of the earlier history building altars, and offering sacrifices +freely in many places, with no apparent consciousness of transgression, +--nay, with the strongest assurance of the divine approval. "Samuel," +says Professor Robertson Smith, "sacrifices on many high places, Saul +builds altars, David and his son Solomon permit the worship at the high +places to continue, and the historian recognizes this as legitimate +because the temple was not yet built (I Kings iii. 2-4). In Northern +Israel this state of things was never changed. The high places were an +established feature in the Kingdom of Ephraim, and Elijah himself +declares that the destruction of the altars of Jehovah--all illegitimate +according to the Pentateuch--is a breach of Jehovah's covenant." +[Footnote: _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_, pp. 220, 221.] + +According to the Levitical law it was positively unlawful for any person +but the high priest ever to go into the innermost sanctuary, the holy of +holies, where the ark of God was kept; and the high priest could go into +that awful place but once a year. But we find the boy Samuel actually +sleeping "in the temple of the Lord where the ark of the Lord was." The +old version conceals this fact by a mistranslation. These are only a few +of many violations of the Pentateuchal legislation which we find +recorded in these books. + +From the silence of these earlier histories concerning the law of Moses, +and from these many transgressions, by the holiest men, of the positive +requirements of the Pentateuchal legislation, the conclusion has been +drawn by recent critics that the Pentateuchal legislation could not have +been in existence during this period of history; that it must have been +produced at a later day. It must be admitted that they make out a strong +case. For reasons presented in the second chapter, I am unable to accept +their theory. It is probable, however, that the code of laws in +existence at this time was a limited and simple code--no such elaborate +ritual as that which we now find in the Pentateuch; and that those +particular requirements with respect to which the earlier Judges and +Samuel and David appear to behave themselves so disorderly, had not then +been enacted. + +Moreover, it seems to be necessary to admit that there was a surprising +amount of popular ignorance respecting even those portions of the law +which were then in existence. This is the astonishing phenomenon. +Attempts are made to illustrate it by the ignorance of the Bible which +prevailed among our own ancestors before the invention of printing; but +no parallel can be found, as I believe, in the mediaeval history of +Europe. It is true that many of the common people were altogether +unfamiliar with the Bible in mediaeval times; but we cannot conceive of +such a thing as that the priests, the learned men, and the leaders of +the church at that time, should have been unaware of the existence of +such a book. + +On his death-bed David is said to have admonished Solomon (I Kings ii. +3), that he should keep the statutes and commandments of the Lord, +"according to that which is written in the law of Moses." This is the +first reference to the Mosaic law which we find in connection with the +history of David; the first mention of a written law since the death of +Joshua, four centuries before. After this there are three other casual +allusions to the law of Moses in the first book of Kings, and four in +the second book. The books of Chronicles, which follow the Kings, +contain frequent allusions to the law; but these books, as we shall see +by and by, were written long afterward; and the tradition which they +embody cannot be so safe a guide as that of the earlier histories. It is +in Chronicles that we learn of the attempt which was made by one of the +good kings of Judah, Jehoshaphat, to have certain princes, priests, and +Levites appointed to teach the law; they went about the land, it is +said, teaching the people, "and had the book of the law of Jehovah with +them." I think that this is the first intimation, after the death of +Moses, that the law delivered by him had been publicly taught or even +read in connection with the ordinances of worship. The earlier narrative +of Jehoshaphat's reign, which we find in the Book of the Kings, makes no +allusion to this circumstance. + +Nearly three hundred years after Jehoshaphat, and nearly five hundred +years after David, the young King Josiah was reigning in Jerusalem. The +temple had fallen into ruin, and the good king determined to have it +repaired. Hilkiah, the high priest, who was rummaging among the rubbish +of the dilapidated sanctuary, found there the Book of the Law of the +Lord. The surprise which he manifests at this discovery, the trepidation +of Shaphan the scribe, who hastens to tell the king about it, and the +consternation of the king when he listens for the first time in his life +to the reading of the book, and discovers how grievously its +commandments have been disobeyed, form one of the most striking scenes +of the old history. "How are we to explain," asks Dr. Perowne, "this +surprise and alarm in the mind of Josiah, betraying, as it does, such +utter ignorance of the Book of the Law and the severity of its +threatenings,--except on the supposition that as a written document it +had well-nigh perished?" [Footnote: Smith's _Bible Dictionary_, +art. "Pentateuch."] Undoubtedly "the Book of the Law" thus discovered +was that body of legislation which lies at the heart of the Deuteronomic +code; and this was never again lost sight of by the Jewish people. It +was less than fifty years after this that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the +city and the temple and carried the people away into captivity. And it +was not until their return from the Captivity, seventy years later, that +these sacred writings began to assume that place of eminence in the +religious system of the Jews which they have held in later times. The +man by whom the Jews were taught to cherish and study these writings was +Ezra, one of the returning exiles. This Ezra, the record says, "was a +ready scribe in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had +given," and "he had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and +to do it and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." He it was, no +doubt, who gave to these laws their last revision, and who put the +Pentateuch substantially into the shape in which we have it now. +Doubtless much was added at this time; ritual rules which had been +handed down orally were written out and made part of the code; the +Pentateuch, after the Exile, was a more elaborate law book than that +which Hilkiah found in the old temple. Under the presidency of Ezra in +Jerusalem, and in the days which followed, the Book of the Law was +exalted; it was the standard of authority; it was read in the temple and +explained in the synagogues; its writings were woven into all the +thought and life of the people of Israel; there never has been a time +since that day when the history of the reign of any king could have been +written without mentioning the law of Moses; there never has been a +decade when any adequate account of the life of the Jewish people could +have been given which would not bring this book constantly into view. + +This Book of the Law, as finally completed by Ezra and his co-laborers, +was the foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures; it possessed a sacredness +in the eyes of the Jews far higher than that pertaining to any other +part of their writings. Next to this in age and importance was the great +division of their Scriptures known by them as _"The Prophets."_ + +After the Book of the Law was given to the people with great solemnity, +in the days of Ezra, and the public reading and explanation of it became +a principal part of the worship of the Jews, it began to be noised +abroad that there were certain other sacred writings worthy to be known +and treasured. The only information we have concerning the beginning of +this second collection is found in one of the apocryphal books, the +second of Maccabees (ii. 14), in which we are told that Neemias +(Nehemiah), in "founding a library, gathered together the acts of the +kings, and [the writings of] the prophets, and of David, and the +epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts." These last named +documents are not now in existence. They appear to have been the letters +and commissions of Babylonian and Persian kings respecting the return of +the people to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple. The other +writings mentioned are, however, all known to us, and are included in +our collection. It is not certain that Nehemiah began this collection; +it may have been initiated before his day, and the "founding" of the +library may have been only the work of providing for the preservation +and arrangement of books already in his possession. This second +collection of sacred writings, called The Prophets, was divided, as I +have before stated, into the Earlier and the Later Prophets; the former +subdivision containing the books of Joshua, [Footnote: Joshua, although +originally a portion of the pentateuchal literature, was, about the time +of the Exile, separated from the first five books, and put into this +later collection.] Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the latter, the books +which we now regard and class as the prophecies. Ruth was at first +considered as a part of the Judges, and was included among the "Earlier +Prophets," and Lamentations was appended to Jeremiah, and included among +the "Later Prophets." These two books were afterward removed from this +collection, for liturgical reasons, and placed in the third group of +writings, of which we shall speak farther on. + +It is probable that the prophetic writings proper were first collected; +but it will be more convenient to speak first of the books known to the +Jews as the "Earlier Prophets," and to us as the Old Testament +Histories,--Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and the Kings. + +These books take up the history of Israel at the death of Joshua, and +continue it to the time of the Captivity, a period of more than eight +centuries. Some of the critics are inclined to connect them all together +as successive volumes of one great history; but there is not much +foundation for this judgment, and it is better to treat them separately. + +The Book of Judges contains the annals of the Israelites after the death +of Joshua, and covers a period of three or four centuries. It was a +period of disorder and turbulence,--the "Dark Ages" of Jewish history; +when every man, as the record often says, "did that which was right in +his own eyes." There is frequent mention of the keeping of various +observances enjoined in the laws of Moses; but there is no express +mention of these laws in the book. The story is chiefly occupied with +the northern tribes; no mention is made of Judah after the third +chapter; and it is largely a recital of the various wars of deliverance +and defense waged by these northern Hebrews against the surrounding +peoples, under certain leaders who arose, in a providential way, to take +command of them. + +The questions, Who wrote it? and When was it written? are not easily +answered. It would appear that portions of it must have been written +after the time of Saul, for the phrase, frequently repeated, "there was +then no king in the land," looks back from a period when there +_was_ a king in the land. And it would appear that the first +chapter must have been written before the middle of the reign of King +David; for it tells us that the Jebusites had not yet been driven out of +Jerusalem; that they still held that stronghold; while in 2 Samuel v. 6, +7, we are told of the expulsion of the Jebusites by David, who made the +place his capital from that time. The tradition that Samuel wrote the +book rests on no adequate foundation. + +The evidence that this book also was compiled, by some later writer, +from various written documents, is abundant and convincing. There are +two distinct introductions, one of which comprises the first chapter and +five verses of the second, and the other of which occupies the remainder +of the second chapter. The first of these begins thus: "And it came to +pass after the death of Joshua that the children of Israel asked of the +Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites, to fight +against them?" The second of these introductions begins by telling how +Joshua sent the people away, after his farewell address, and goes on +(ii. 8) to say, "And Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died, +being an hundred and ten years old." After recounting a number of events +which happened, as it tells us, after the death of Joshua, the narrative +goes on to give us as naively as possible an account of Joshua's death. +If this were a consecutive narrative from the hand of one writer, +inspired or otherwise, such an arrangement would be inexplicable; but if +we have here a combination of two or more independent documents, the +explanation is not difficult. It is a little puzzling, too, to find the +circumstances of the death of Joshua repeated here, in almost the same +words as those which we find in the Book of Joshua (xxiv. 29-31). It +would seem either that the writer of Joshua must have copied from +Judges, or the writer of Judges from Joshua, or else that both copied +from some older document this account of Joshua's death. + +Another still more striking illustration of the manner in which these +old books are constructed is found in the account given in the first +chapter of the capture of Debir, by Caleb (i. 11-15). Here it is +expressly said that this capture took place after the death of Joshua, +as a consequence of the leadership assigned by Jehovah to the tribe of +Judah in this war against the Canaanites. But the same narrative, in the +same words, is found in the Book of Joshua (xv. 15-19), and here we are +told no less explicitly that the incident happened during the lifetime +of Joshua. There is no doubt that the incident happened; it is a simple +and natural story, and carries the marks of credibility upon its face; +but if it happened after the death of Joshua it did not happen before +his death; one of these narrators borrowed the story from the other, or +else both borrowed it from a common source; and one of them, certainly, +put it in the wrong place,--one of them must have been mistaken as to +the time when it occurred. Such a mistake is of no consequence at all to +one who holds a rational theory of inspiration; he expects to find in +these old documents just such errors and misplacements; they do not in +the least affect the true value of the book; but it must be obvious to +any one that instances of this nature cannot be reconciled with the +theory of an infallible book, which has been generally regarded as the +only true theory. + +The book is of the utmost value as showing us the state of morals and +manners in that far-off time, and letting us see with what crude +material the great ideas committed to Israel--the unity and spirituality +and righteousness of God--were compelled to work themselves out. + +The Book of Ruth, which was formerly, in the Jewish collections, +regarded as a part of the Book of Judges, is a beautiful pastoral idyl +of the same period. Its scene is laid in Judea, and it serves to show us +that in the midst of all those turbulent ages there were quiet homes and +gentle lives. No sweeter story can be found in any literature; maternal +tenderness, filial affection, genuine chivalry, find in the book their +typical representatives. The first sentence of the book gives us the +approximate date of the incidents recorded: it was "in the days when the +judges judged." The concluding verses give us the genealogy of King +David, showing that Ruth was his great-grandmother; it must, therefore, +have been written as late as the reign of David,--probably much later; +for it describes, as if they belonged to a remote antiquity, certain +usages of the Jews which must needs have shaped themselves after the +occupation of Canaan. Yet it could scarcely have been written so late as +the Captivity, for the marriage of Ruth, who is a Moabitess, to Boaz, is +mentioned as if it were a matter of course, with no hint of censure. In +the latter days of Israel such an alliance of a Jew with a foreigner +would have been regarded as highly reprehensible. Indeed the +Deuteronomic law most stringently forbids all social relations with that +particular tribe to which Ruth belonged. "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall +not enter into the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation +shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of the Lord for +ever.... Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy +days for ever." (Deut. xxiii. 3, 6.) But Ruth, the Moabitess, becomes +the wife of one of the chief men of Bethlehem, with the applause of all +the Bethlehemites, and the highest approval of the author of this +narrative; nay, she becomes, in the fourth generation, the ancestress of +the greatest of all the kings of Israel. This certainly shows that the +people of Bethlehem did not know of the Deuteronomic law, for they were +a God-fearing and a law-abiding people; and it also makes it probable +that the incident occurred, and that the book which describes the +incident was written, before this part of the Deuteronomic code was in +existence. It is therefore valuable, not only as throwing light on the +life of the people at that early period, but also as illustrating the +growth of the pentateuchal literature. + +The two Books of Samuel and the two Books of Kings appear in the +Septuagint and in the Latin Vulgate as one work in four volumes,--they +are called the Four Books of Kings. In the recent Hebrew Bibles they are +divided, however, as in our Bible, and bear the same names. They +constitute, it is true, a continuous history; but the supposition that +they were all written at one time and by one author is scarcely +credible. The standpoint of the writer of the Kings is considerably +shifted from that occupied by the writer of Samuel; we find ourselves in +a new circle of ideas when we pass from the one book to the other. + +The Books of Samuel are generally ascribed to Samuel as their author. +This is a fair sample of that lazy traditionalism which Christian +opinion has been constrained to follow. There is not the slightest +reason for believing that the Books of Samuel were written by Samuel any +more than that the Odyssey was written by Ulysses, or the Aeneid by +Aeneas, or Bruce's Address by Bruce, or Paracelsus by Paracelsus, or St. +Simeon Stylites by Simeon himself. Even in Bible books we do not hold +that the Book of Esther was written by Esther, or the Book of Ruth by +Ruth, or the Book of Job by Job, or the Books of Timothy by Timothy. The +fact that Samuel's name is given to the book proves nothing as to its +authorship. It may have been called Samuel because it begins with the +story of Samuel. The Hebrews were apt to name their books by some word +or fact at the beginning of them, as we have seen in their naming of the +books of the Pentateuch. + +It is true that certain facts are mentioned in this book of which Samuel +would have better knowledge than any one else; and he is said to have +made a record of certain events, (I Sam. x. 25.) But his death is +related in the first verse of the twenty-fifth chapter of First Samuel; +and it is certain, therefore, that considerably more than half of the +document ascribed to him must have been written by some one else. + +As to the name of the writer we are wholly ignorant, and it is not easy +to determine the date at which he wrote. If we regarded this as a +continuous history from the hand of one writer, we should be compelled +to ascribe it to a date somewhat later than the separation of the two +kingdoms; for in I Sam. xxvii. 6, we read of the present made by the +king of Gath to David of the city of Ziklag, at the time when David was +hiding from Saul; "wherefore," it is added, "Ziklag pertaineth unto the +kings of Judah even unto this day." Now there were no "kings of Judah" +until after the ten tribes seceded; Rehoboam was the first of the kings +of Judah, therefore this must have been written after the time of +Rehoboam. Doubtless this sentence was written after that time; and in +all probability the books of Samuel did not receive their present form +until some time after the secession of the ten tribes. The materials +from which the writer composed the book are hinted at here and there; it +is almost certain that here, as in the other books, old documents are +combined by the author, and not always with the best editorial care. +Several old songs are quoted: the "Song of Hannah," David's exquisite +lament over Saul and Jonathan, which is known as "The Bow;" David's +"Song of Deliverance," after he had escaped from Saul, which we find in +the Psalter as the Eighteenth Psalm, and "The Last Words of David." The +books contain a vivid narrative of the times of Eli and Samuel and Saul, +and of the splendid reign of King David. No portion of the Old Testament +has been more diligently studied, and the moral teaching of the books is +clear and luminous. The ethical thoroughness of these writings when +compared with almost any literature of equal antiquity is always +remarkable. Take, as an example, the treatment which David receives at +the hands of the writer. He is a great hero, the one grand figure of +Hebrew history; but there is nothing of the demigod in this picture of +him; his faults and crimes are exposed and denounced, and he gains our +respect only by his hearty contrition and amendment. Verily the God of +Israel whom this book reveals is a God who loveth righteousness and +hateth iniquity. + +The Books of the Kings were originally one book, and ought to have +remained one. The manuscript was torn in two by some scribe or copyist +long ago, in the middle of the story of the reign of King Ahaziah; the +first word of Second Kings goes on without so much as taking breath, +from the last word of First Kings. There is no excuse for this bisection +of the narrative; it must be due to some accident, or to the arbitrary +and unintelligent act of some person who paid no attention to the +meaning of the document. As the Books of Samuel carry the history from +the birth of Samuel down to the end of David's reign, so the Books of +the Kings take up the story in the last days of David and carry it on to +the time of the Exile, a period of four hundred and fifty years. The +name of the author is concealed from us; there is a tradition, not +altogether improbable, that it was written by the Prophet Jeremiah. If +you will compare the last chapter of Second Kings with the last chapter +of Jeremiah, you will discover that they are almost verbally the same. +Here, again, if Jeremiah was not the author, either writer may have +copied the passage from the other, or both may have taken it from some +older book. But this passage gives us a note of time. It tells us that +Evil-Merodach, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, released +the captive king of Judah, Jehoiachin, from his long confinement, and +gave him a seat at his own table. The book must have been written, then, +after the beginning of the reign of Evil-Merodach; and there is plenty +of history to show that his reign began 561 B.C. And inasmuch as the +book gives no hint of the return of the Jews from their captivity, which +began in 538 B.C., we may fairly conclude that the book was written some +time between those dates. Let us suppose that Jeremiah wrote it; even +he, as prophet of the Lord, certainly used the materials of history +which had accumulated in the archives of the two nations. + +It is evident that, after the establishment of the kingdom, considerable +attention was paid to the preservation of the records of important +national events. The kings kept chroniclers who not only preserved and +edited old documents, but who wrote the annals of their own times. In I +Kings xi. 41, at the conclusion of the narrative of Solomon's reign, we +read, "Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his +wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?" For +his history of Jeroboam the writer refers in the same way to "The Book +of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel," and for his history of +Rehoboam to "The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah." The same +is true of the reigns of other kings. These were not, of course, our +Books of Chronicles, for these were not written for two hundred years +after the Book of Kings was finished. It is thus evident, as one modern +writer has said, "that the author laboriously employed the materials +within his reach, very much as a modern historian might do, and further +that he was as much puzzled by chronological difficulties as a modern +historian frequently is." [Footnote: Horton's _Inspiration and the +Bible_, p. 182.] Prophet or not, he took the materials at his hands, +and put them together in this history. + +The splendid but corrupt reign of the son of David; the secession of the +ten tribes under Jeroboam; the hostile relations of the two kingdoms of +Israel and Judah for two hundred and fifty years, by which both were +weakened, and through unholy alliances corrupted, and the result of +which was the final destruction of both, are described in this book in a +spirited and evidently veracious manner. The two great prophets, Elijah +and Elisha, are grand figures in this narrative; much of the story +revolves around them. As witnesses for the righteous Jehovah they stand +forth, warning, rebuking, counseling kings and people; the moral +leadership by which Israel is chastened and corrected and led in the way +of righteousness expresses itself largely through their ministry. The +words of Lord Arthur Hervey, in Smith's "Bible Dictionary," none too +strongly convey the historian's sense of the value of this part of the +Old Testament:-- + +"Considering the conciseness of the narrative and the simplicity of the +style, the amount of the knowledge which these books convey of the +characters, conduct, and manners of kings and people during so long a +period is truly wonderful. The insight which they give us into the +aspect of Judah and Jerusalem, both natural and artificial, with the +religious, military, and civil institutions of the people, their arts +and manufactures, the state of education and learning among them, their +resources, commerce, exploits, alliances, the causes of their decadence, +and finally of their ruin, is most clear, interesting, and instructive. +In a few brief sentences we acquire more accurate knowledge of the +affairs of Egypt, Tyre, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, and other neighboring +nations than had been preserved to us in all the other remains of +antiquity up to the recent discoveries in hieroglyphical and cuneiform +monuments." [Footnote: Vol. iii. p. 1561, American Edition.] + +The substantial historical veracity of these books has been confirmed in +many ways by these very monuments to which Lord Hervey refers. And yet +this substantial historical accuracy is found, as in other histories of +the olden time, in the midst of many minor errors and discrepancies. It +would seem as if Providence had taken the utmost pains to show us that +the essential truth and the moral and religious value of this history +could not be identified with any theory of verbal or even plenary +inspiration. + +Take, for example, some of the chronological items of this record. Mr. +Horton's clear statement will bring a few of them before us:-- + +"The author seems to have been content, in dealing with an Israelite +king, to give the date reckoned by the year of the reigning king in +Judah just as he found it stated in the Israelite chronicles, and then +to do the same in dealing with the dates of the reigning kings of +Israel; but he did not consider whether the two chronicles harmonized. +We may take some illustrations from the latter part of the work. Hoshea +began to reign in Israel (2 Kings xv. 30) in the twentieth year of +Jotham the king of Judah. So far writes our author, following the +records of the Northern Kingdom. For his next paragraph he turns to his +records of the Southern Kingdom, and naively tells us that Jotham never +reached a twentieth year, but only reigned sixteen years (xv. 33); but +even this is not the end of the difficulty; in chapter xvii. he goes +back to the Northern Kingdom and tells us that Hoshea began to reign, +not in Jotham's reign at all, but in the reign of Ahaz, Jotham's +successor; and if now he had said, 'in the fourth year of Ahaz,' we +might see our way through the perplexity, for the fourth year of Ahaz +would, at any rate, be twenty years from the beginning of Jotham's +reign, though Jotham himself had died after reigning sixteen years; but +he says, not in the fourth, but 'in the twelfth year of Ahaz king of +Judah.' We may give it up, and exclaim with the Speaker's commentator, +'The chronological confusion of the history, as it stands, is striking,' +and then perhaps we may exclaim at the Speaker's commentator, that he +and the like of him have given us so little account of these +unmistakable phenomena, and the cause of them, in the history. + +"One other illustration may suffice. King Ahaz, according to one +authority, lived twenty years and then came to the throne and reigned +for sixteen years. (2 Kings xvi. 2.) At his death, therefore, Ahaz was +thirty-six years of age. In that year he was succeeded by his son +Hezekiah, who was twenty-five years of age. This would mean that King +Ahaz was married at the age of ten, which, making all allowance for the +earlier puberty of Eastern boys, does not seem probable; and the +explanation is much more likely to be found in the chronological +inaccuracies of our author, to which, if we have been observantly +reading his book through, we shall by this time have become quite +accustomed." [Footnote: Inspiration and the Bible, pp. 189-191.] + +Observe that we are not going to any hostile or foreign sources for +these evidences of inaccuracy; we are simply letting the book tell its +own story. Such phenomena as these appear throughout this history. They +lie upon the very face of the narrative. Probably few of the readers of +these pages have noted them. For myself, I must confess that I read the +Bible through, from cover to cover, several times before I was thirty +years old, but I had never observed these inaccuracies. The +commentators, for the most part,--the orthodox commentators,--carefully +keep these facts out of sight. Sometimes they attempt, indeed, to +explain or reconcile them, but such explanations generally increase the +incredibility of the narrative. The latest verdict of ultra-conservatism +is that these dates and chronological notes are interpolated by some +later hand; but this, too, is quite out of the question. The only true +account of the matter is, that the author took these records from the +Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and the Chronicles of the Kings of +Israel, and pieced them together without noticing or caring whether they +agreed. His mind was not fixed upon scientific accuracy of dates. He was +thinking only of the great ethical and spiritual problems working +themselves out in this history,--of the question whether or not these +kings "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord," and of the +effects of their right doing and their evil doing upon the lives of the +people. What difference, indeed, does it make to you and me whether +Jotham reigned sixteen years or twenty years? It seems to me that these +inaccuracies are suffered to lie upon the face of the narrative that our +thoughts may be turned away from these details of the record to the +great principles of morality and religion whose development it reveals +to us. + +These errors which appear upon the surface are obvious enough to any +careful reader. But other facts, most important and suggestive, are +brought to light when we compare these narratives of Samuel and Kings as +we find them in the Hebrew text with the same narrative in the Greek +text, the Septuagint. The Old Testament, as we have seen, was translated +into the Greek language, for the benefit of those Jews who spoke only +Greek, early in the third century before Christ. Undoubtedly it was a +pretty faithful translation at the time when it was made. But a careful +comparison of the two texts as they exist at the present time shows that +considerable additions have been made to both of them; and that some +changes and misplacements have occurred in both of them. Sometimes it is +evident that the Hebrew is the more correct, because the story is more +orderly and consistent; and sometimes it is equally evident that the +Greek version, which, as you remember, was commonly used by our Lord and +his apostles, is the better. This comparison gives us a vivid and +convincing illustration of the freedom with which the text was handled +by scribes and copyists; how bits of narrative--most commonly legends +and popular tales concerning the heroes of the nation--were thrust into +the text, sometimes quite breaking its continuity; they make it plain +that that preternatural supervision of it, for the prevention of error, +which we have frequently heard about, is itself a myth. It is in these +books of Samuel and the Kings that these variations of the Septuagint +from the Hebrew text are most frequent and most instructive. + +In the story of David's introduction to Saul, for example, our version, +following the Hebrew, tells us (I Sam. xvi. 14-23), that when David was +first made known to Saul he was "a mighty man of valor, and a man of +war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person." He comes into Saul's +household; Saul loves him greatly, and makes him his armor-bearer. In +the next chapter David is represented as a mere lad, and it appears that +Saul had never seen or heard of him. Indeed, he asks his general, Abner, +who this stripling is. The contradiction in these narratives is palpable +and irreconcilable. When we turn now to the Septuagint, we find that it +omits from the seventeenth chapter verses 12-31 inclusive; also from the +55th verse to the end of the chapter and the first five verses of the +next chapter. Taking out these passages, the main difficulties of the +narrative are at once removed. It appears probable that these passages +were not in the narrative when it was translated into Greek, but that +they embodied a current and a very beautiful tradition about David which +some later Hebrew transcriber ventured to incorporate into the text. + +In the Books of the Kings the variations between these two versions are +also extremely suggestive. You can see distinctly, as if it were done +before your eyes, how supplementary matter has been inserted into the +one text or the other, since the Greek translation was made. In the +sixth chapter of First Kings, the Septuagint omits verses 11-14, which +is an exhortation to Solomon, injected into the specifications +respecting the temple building. Omit these verses, and the description +goes on smoothly. Similarly in the ninth chapter of the same book the +Septuagint omits verses 15-25. This passage breaks the connection; the +narrative of Solomon's dealings with Hiram is consecutively told in the +Greek version; in the Hebrew it is interrupted by this extraneous +matter. You can readily see which is the original form of the writing. + +Now what does all this signify? Of course it signifies most distinctly +that this history must not be judged by the canons of modern historical +criticism. Mr. Horton quotes some strenuous advocate of the traditional +theory of the Bible as maintaining that "when God writes history he will +be at least as accurate as Bishop Stubbs or Mr. Gardiner; and if we are +to admit errors in his historical work, then why not in his plan of +salvation and doctrine of atonement?" It is this kind of reasoning that +drives intelligent men into infidelity. For the errors are here; they +speak for themselves; nothing but a mole-eyed dogmatism can evade them; +and if we link the great doctrines of the Bible with this dogma of the +historical inerrancy of the Scriptures, they will all go down together. + +But what, after all, do these errors amount to? What is the meaning and +purport of this history? What are these writers trying to do? "It +seems," says Mr. Horton, "as if their purpose was not so much to tell us +what happened as to emphasize for us the lesson of what happened. It is +_applied_ history, rather than history pure and simple; and on this +ground we can understand the tendency to irritation which critical +historians sometimes betray in approaching it.... The prophetic +historian would never dream, like a modern historian, of writing +interminable monographs about a disputed name or a doubtful date; he +might even take a story which rested on very doubtful authority, finding +in it more that would suit his purpose than the bare and accurate +statement of the fact which could be authenticated. The standpoint of +the prophetic historian and of the scientific historian are wholly +different; they cannot be judged by the same canons of criticism. ...To +the prophetic eye the significance of all events seems to be in their +relation to the will of God. The prophet may not always discern what the +will of God is; he may interpret events in a quite inadequate manner. +But his predominant thought makes itself felt; and consequently the +study of these histories leaves us in a widely different frame of mind +from that which Thucydides or Mr. Freeman would produce. We do not feel +to know, perhaps, so accurately about the wars between Israel and Judah +as we know about the wars between Athens and Sparta; we do not feel to +know, perhaps, so much about the monarchy of Israel as we know about the +Anglo-Norman monarchy; but, on the other hand, we seem to be more aware +of God, we seem to recognize his hand controlling the wavering affairs +of states, we seem to comprehend that obedience to his will is of more +importance than any political consideration, and that in the long course +of history disobedience to his will means national distress and national +ruin. The study of scientific histories has its advantages; but it is +not quite certain that these advantages are greater than those which the +study of prophetic history yields. Perhaps, after all, the one fact of +history is God's work in it; in which case the scientific histories, +with all their learning, with all their toil, will look rather small by +the side of these imperfect compositions which at least saw vividly and +recognized faithfully _the one fact_." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE HEBREW PROPHECIES. + + + +In the last chapter the opinion was expressed that the first books +collected by Nehemiah, when he made up his "library," a century after +the Exile, were the writings of the prophets. We studied the historical +books first, because they stand first in the Hebrew Bible, and are there +named the "Earlier Prophets;" but the probabilities are that the +prophetical writings proper, called by the Jews the "Later Prophets," +were first gathered. + +When was this collection made? If it was made by Nehemiah (and there is +nothing to discredit the statement of the author of 2 Maccabees that he +was the collector), then it was not compiled until one hundred years +after the Exile, or only about four hundred and twenty years before +Christ. Most of the prophets had written before or during the Exile. +Joel, Hosea, and Amos had flourished three or four hundred years before +this collection was made; Isaiah, the greatest of them all, had been in +his grave almost three centuries; Micah, nearly as long; Nahum, +Habakkuk, and Zephaniah had been silent from one to two hundred years; +Jeremiah, who was alive when the seventy years' captivity began, and +Ezekiel, who prophesied and perished among the captives on the banks of +the Euphrates, were more remote from Nehemiah than Samuel Johnson and +Jonathan Edwards are from us; even Haggai and Zechariah, who came back +with the returning exiles and helped to build the second temple, had +passed away from fifty to one hundred years before the time of Nehemiah. +Malachi alone,--"The Messenger,"--and the last of the prophets, may have +been alive when the compilation of the prophetic writings was made. + +It may be safely conjectured that the Jews, although they had never +possessed any collection of the books of the prophets, had known +something of their contents. Several of the prophets had foretold the +desolation and the captivity, and there had been abundant time during +the Exile to recall the words they had spoken and to wish that their +fathers had heeded them. These remembered words of the prophets, passing +from lip to lip, would thus have acquired peculiar sacredness. It seems +clear, also, that copies of these books must have been kept,--perhaps in +the schools of the prophets; for the later prophets quote, verbally, +from the earlier ones. It may, therefore, have been in response to a +popular wish that this collection of their writings was undertaken. +Words so momentous as these ought to be sacredly treasured. Furthermore, +there were reasons to apprehend that the holy flame of prophecy was +dying out. Malachi may have been speaking still, but there was not much +promise that he would have a successor, and the expectation of prophetic +voices was growing dim among the people. + +The Levitical ritual, now so elaborate and cumbersome, had supplanted +the prophetic oracle. The ritualist is never a prophet; and out of such +a formal cult no words of inspiration are apt to flow. With all the +greater carefulness, therefore, would the people treasure the messages +that had come to them from the past. Accordingly these prophetic +writings, which had existed in a fragmentary and scattered form, were +gathered into a collection by themselves. + +It must be admitted that when we try to tell how these writings had been +preserved and transmitted through all these centuries, we have but +little solid ground of fact to go upon. The Scriptures themselves are +entirely silent with respect to the manner of their preservation; the +traditions of the Jews are wholly worthless. We must not imagine that +these books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Hosea were written and published +as our books are written and published; there was no book trade then +through which literature could be marketed, and no subscription agencies +hawking books from door to door. You must not imagine that every family +in Judea had a copy of Isaiah's Works,--nor even that a copy could be +found in every village; it is possible that there were not, when the +people were carried into captivity, more than a few dozen copies of +these prophecies in existence, and these were in the hands of some of +the prophets or literary dignitaries of the nation, or in the archives +of some of the prophetical schools. The notion that these works were +distributed among the people for study and devotional reading is not to +be entertained. No such general use of the prophetical writings was ever +conceived of by the Jews before the Captivity. + +Indeed, many of these prophecies, as we call them, were not, primarily, +literature at all. They were sermons or addresses, delivered orally to +the individuals concerned, or to assemblies of the people. You can see +the evidence, in many cases, that they must have been thus delivered. + +We speak of the "prophecy" of Isaiah, or the "prophecy" of Jeremiah; but +the books bearing their names are made up of a number of "prophecies," +uttered on various occasions. The division between these separate +prophecies is generally indicated by the language; in all Paragraph +Bibles it is marked by blank lines. In each of these earlier prophetical +books we thus have, in all probability, a succession of deliverances, +extending through long periods of time and prepared for various +occasions. + +After the oracle was spoken to those for whom it was designed, it was +written down by the prophet or by his friends and disciples, and thus +preserved. This supposition seems, at any rate, more plausible than any +other that I have found. Manifestly many of these prophecies were +originally sermons or public addresses; it is natural to suppose that +they were first delivered, and then, for substance, reduced to writing, +that a record might be made of the utterance. + +It is sometimes alleged that these prophecies, as soon as they were +produced, were at once added to a collection of sacred Scriptures which +was preserved in the sanctuary. There was a "Book" or "Scripture," it is +said, "which from the time of Moses was kept open, and in which the +writings of the prophets may have been recorded as they were produced." +[Footnote: Alexander on Isaiah, i. 7.] + +The learned divine who ventures this conjecture admits that it would be +as hard to prove it as to disprove it. My own opinion is that it would +be much harder. If there had been any such official receptacle of sacred +writings, the prophets were not generally in a position to secure the +admission of their documents into it. They were often in open +controversy with the people who kept the sanctuary; the political and +the religious authorities of the nation were the objects of their +severest denunciations; it is not likely that the priests would make +haste to transcribe and preserve in the sanctuary the sermons and +lectures of the men who were scourging them with censure. This national +_bibliotheca sacra_ in which the writings of the prophets were +deposited as soon as they were composed is the product of pure fiction. +It was not thus that the prophetical utterances were preserved; rather +is it to be supposed that the pupils and friends of the prophet +faithfully kept his manuscripts after he was gone; that occasional +copies were made of them by those who wished to study them, and that +thus they were handed down from generation to generation. + +When Nehemiah made his collection he found these manuscripts, in whose +hands we know not, and brought them together in one place. We may +presume that the writings of each prophet were copied upon a separate +roll, and that the rolls were kept together in some receptacle in the +temple. Most of these prophets had now been dead some hundreds of years; +the truth of their messages was no longer disputed even by the priests +and the scribes; their heresy was now the soundest orthodoxy; the +custodians of orthodoxy would of course now make a place for their +writings in the national archives. The priests have always been ready to +build sepulchres for the prophets after they were dead, and to pay them +plenty of _post mortem_ reverence. + +The books of the prophets stand in the later Hebrew Bibles in the same +order as that in which they are placed in our own; they occupy a +different place in the whole collection: they are in the middle of the +Hebrew Bible, and they are at the end of ours; but their relation to one +another is the same in both Bibles. This order is not chronological; in +part, at least, it seems to represent what was supposed to be the +relative importance of the books. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are +placed first, perhaps because they are longest, although several of the +minor prophets are of earlier date than they. "Daniel" is not among the +prophets in the Hebrew Bible; the book which bears this name is one of +the books of the third collection,--the Hagiographa,--of which we shall +speak at another time. + +"When we follow further the same collection," says Professor Murray, "we +find Hosea immediately following Ezekiel [although Hosea lived more than +two centuries before Ezekiel] and in turn followed by Joel and Amos, +mainly on the principle of comparative bulk. Haggai, Zechariah, and +Malachi were placed at the end for reasons purely chronological, after +the rest of the collection had been made up. We cannot see any clear or +consistent reason for the position of Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, +Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, which stand together in the middle of the +collection." + +An examination of the chronological notes on the margin of our English +Bibles (which are not always correct though they are approximately so) +will show that these prophetical books are not arranged in the order of +time. It would be a great improvement to have them so arranged. Pupils +in the Sunday-schools who attempted a few years ago to follow the +"International" lessons through these prophecies, _seriatim_, found +themselves skipping back and forward over the centuries in a history- +defying dance which was quite bewildering to all but the clearest heads. +We could understand these prophecies much better if they were arranged +in the order of their dates. And as no one supposes that the present +arrangement, made by Jewish scribes, is in any wise inspired, there +seems to be no good reason why the late revisers might not have altered +it, and set these books in a historical and intelligible order. + +Who were these prophets and what was their function? To give any +adequate answer to this inquiry would require a treatise; it is only in +the most cursory manner that we can deal with it in this place. + +The prophet is the man who speaks for God. He is the interpreter of the +divine will. By some means he has come to understand God's purpose, and +his function is to declare it. Thus in Exodus iv. 16, Jehovah says to +Moses, "Aaron thy brother ... shall be thy spokesman unto the people, +and it shall come to pass that he shall be to thee a mouth and thou +shalt be to him as God." And again (vii. i), "See, I have made thee a +god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." These +passages indicate the Biblical meaning of the word. The prophet is the +spokesman or interpreter of some superior authority. In Classic Greek, +also, Apollo is called the prophet of Jupiter, and the Pythia is the +prophetess of Apollo. Almost universally, in the Old Testament, the word +is used to signify an expounder or interpreter of the divine will. + +"The English words 'prophet, prophecy, prophesying,'" says Dean Stanley, +"originally kept tolerably close to the Biblical use of the word. The +celebrated dispute about 'prophesyings' in the sense of 'preachings' in +the reign of Elizabeth, and the treatise of Jeremy Taylor on 'The +Liberty of Prophesying,' _i.e._, the liberty of preaching, show +that even down to the seventeenth century the word was still used as in +the Bible, for preaching or speaking according to the will of God. In +the seventeenth century, however, the limitation of the word to the +sense of prediction had gradually begun to appear. This secondary +meaning of the word had by the time of Dr. Johnson so entirely +superseded the original Scriptural signification that he gives no other +special definition of it than 'to predict, to foretell, to +prognosticate,' 'a predicter, a foreteller,' 'foreseeing or foretelling +future events;' and in this sense it has been used almost down to our +own day, when the revival of Biblical criticism has resuscitated, in +some measure, the Biblical use of the word." [Footnote: _History of +the Jewish Church_, i. 459, 460.] The predictive function of the +prophet is not, then, the only, nor the prominent feature of his work. +By far the larger portion of the prophetic utterances were concerned +with the present, and made no reference to the future. + +The prophet exercised his office in many ways. Moses was a prophet, the +first and greatest of the prophets; but we have from him few +predictions; he interpreted the will of God in the enactment of laws. +Samuel was a great prophet; but Samuel was not employed in foretelling +future events; he sought to know the will of God, that he might +administer the affairs of the Jewish commonwealth in accordance with it. +Elijah and Elisha were great prophets, but they were not +prognosticators; they were preachers of righteousness to kings and +people, and they delivered their message in a way to make the ears of +those who heard them to tingle. And this, for all the prophets who +succeeded them, was the one great business. The ethical function of +these men of God came more and more distinctly into view. + +When Paul admonished Timothy (2 Tim. iv. 2) to "preach the word; be +instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long- +suffering and teaching," he was calling on him to be a follower of the +prophets. When kings became profligate and faithless, when priests grew +formal and greedy, when the rich waxed extortionate and tyrannical, +these men of God arose to denounce the transgressors and threaten them +with the divine vengeance. They might arise in any quarter, from any +class. They were confined to no tribe, to no locality, to no calling. +Neither sex monopolized this gift. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah were shining +names upon their roll of honor. To no ecclesiasticism or officialism did +they owe their authority; no man's hands had been laid upon them in +ordination; they were Jehovah's messengers; from him alone they received +their messages, to him alone they held themselves responsible. + +No such preachers of politics ever existed as these Hebrew prophets; +with all the affairs of state they constantly intermeddled; bad laws and +unholy policies found in them sharp and unsparing critics; the +entangling alliances of Israel with the surrounding nations were +denounced by them in season and out of season. The people of their own +time often stigmatized them as unpatriotic; because they would not +approve popular iniquities, or refrain their lips from rebuking even +"favorite sons," or the idols of the populace, they often found +themselves under the ban of public opinion; they lived lonely lives; not +a few of them died violent deaths. "Which of the prophets did not your +fathers persecute?" demanded Stephen, "and they killed them which showed +before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become +betrayers and murderers." [Footnote: Acts vii. 52.] + +The relation of the prophets to the political life of the Jewish people +is brought out in a striking way by John Stuart Mill in his book on +"Representative Government." In that chapter in which he discusses the +criterion of a good government, he shows how the Egyptian hierarchy and +the Chinese paternal despotism destroyed those countries by stereotyping +their institutions. Then he goes on:-- + +"In contrast with these nations let us consider the example of an +opposite character, afforded by another and a comparatively +insignificant Oriental people, the Jews. They, too, had an absolute +monarchy and a hierarchy, and their organized institutions were as +obviously of sacerdotal origin as those of the Hindoos. These did for +them what was done for other Oriental races by their institutions, +subdued them to industry and order, and gave them a national life. But +neither their kings nor their priests ever obtained, as in those other +countries, the exclusive moulding of their character. Their religion, +which enabled persons of genius and a high religious tone to be regarded +and to regard themselves as inspired from heaven, gave existence to an +inestimably precious unorganized institution,--the Order (if it may be +so termed) of Prophets. Under the protection, generally though not +always effectual, of their sacred character, the Prophets were a power +in the nation, often more than a match for kings and priests, and kept +up in that little corner of the earth the antagonism of influences which +is the only real security for continued progress. Religion, +consequently, was not then what it has been in so many other places, a +consecration of all that was once established, and a barrier against +further improvement. The remark of a distinguished Hebrew, M. Salvador, +that the Prophets were in church and state the equivalent of the modern +liberty of the press, gives a just but not an adequate conception of the +part fulfilled in national and universal history by this great element +of Jewish life; by means of which, the canon of inspiration never being +complete, the persons most eminent in genius and moral feeling could not +only denounce and reprobate, with the direct authority of the Almighty, +whatever appeared to them deserving of such treatment, but could give +forth better and higher interpretations of the national religion, which +thenceforth became part of the religion. Accordingly, whoever can divest +himself of the habit of reading the Bible as if it was one book, which +until lately was equally inveterate in Christians and unbelievers, sees +with admiration the vast interval between the morality and religion of +the Pentateuch, or even of the historical books (the unmistakable work +of Hebrew Conservatives of the Sacerdotal order), and the morality and +religion of the Prophecies. Conditions more favorable to progress could +not easily exist; accordingly, the Jews, instead of being stationary +like other Asiatics, were, next to the Greeks, the most progressive +people of antiquity, and, joint with them, have been the starting-point +and main propelling agency of modern civilization." [Footnote: +_Considerations on Representative Government,_ pp. 51-53, American +Edition.] + +Not only in the sphere of politics, but in that of religion also, were +they constantly appearing as critics and censors. The tendency of +religion to become merely ritual, to divorce itself from righteousness, +is inveterate. Against this tendency the prophets were the constant +witnesses. The religious "machine" is always in the same danger of +becoming corrupt and mischievous as is the political "machine;" the man +with the sledge-hammer who will smash it and fling it into the junk-pile +has a work to do in every generation. This was the work of the Hebrew +prophets. "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice," cries Hosea, speaking +for Jehovah. "I hate, I despise your feast days," says Amos, "and I will +not smell in your solemn assemblies,...but let judgment run down as +waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." "Your new moons and your +appointed feasts my soul hateth," proclaims Isaiah; "they are a trouble +unto me; I am weary to bear them. Wash ye, make you clean; cease to do +evil; learn to do well. Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to +loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burden, and to let the +oppressed go free?" + +This is, then, the chief function of the Hebrew prophet; he is the +expounder of the righteous will of God, not mainly with respect to +future events, but with respect to present transgressions and present +obligations of kings and priests and people. And yet it would be an +error to overlook or disparage his dealings with the future. As a +teacher of righteousness he saw that present disobedience would bring +future retribution, and he pointed it out with the utmost fidelity. Any +man who carefully studies the laws of God can make some predictions with +great confidence. He knows that certain courses of conduct will be +followed by certain consequences. Some of the predictions of the Hebrew +prophets were of this nature. Yet predictions of this nature were always +conditional. The condition was not always expressed, but it was always +understood. The threatening of destruction to the disobedient was +withdrawn when the disobedient turned from their evil ways. The +predictions of the prophets were not always fulfilled for this good +reason. The rule is explicitly laid down by the Prophet Jeremiah: "At +what instant I shall speak concerning a nation...to destroy it; if that +nation...turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought +to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a +nation...to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it +obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I +would benefit them." [Footnote: Jeremiah xviii. 7-9.] + +And there is something more than this. Instances are here recorded of +specific predictions of future events, which came to pass as they were +predicted,--predictions which cannot be explained on naturalistic +principles. "Of this sort," says Bleek, "are the prophecies of Isaiah as +to the closely impending destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and +Syria, which he predicted with great confidence at a time when the two +kingdoms appeared particularly strong by their treaty with each +other,...besides the repeated predictions as to the destruction of the +mighty hosts of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, which besieged Jerusalem, +and the deliverance of the state from the greatest distress. Among these +predictions, those in Isaiah xxix. 1-8, appear to me particularly +noteworthy, where he foretells that a long time hence Jerusalem should +be besieged by a foreign host and pressed very hard, but that the +latter, just as they believed they were getting possession of the city, +should be scattered and annihilated; for this prediction, from its whole +character, appears to have been uttered before any danger showed itself +from this quarter." [Footnote: _Introduction to the Old Testament_, +ii. 27.] + +Beyond and above all this is the gradual rise in Israel of that great +Messianic hope, of which the prophets were the inspired and inspiring +witnesses. We find, at a very early day, an expectation of a future +revelation of the glory of God, dawning upon the consciousness of the +nation, and expressing itself by the words of its most devout spirits. +Even in prosperous days there was a dim outreaching after something +better; in times of disaster and overthrow this hope was kindled to a +passionate longing. Of this Messianic hope, its nature and its +fulfillment, no words of mine can tell so eloquently as these words of +Dean Stanley:-- + +"It was the distinguishing mark of the Jewish people that their golden +age was not in the past, but in the future; that their greatest hero (as +they deemed him to be) was not their Founder, but their Founder's latest +Descendant. Their traditions, their fancies, their glories, gathered +round the head, not of a chief or warrior or sage that had been, but of +a King, a Deliverer, a Prophet who was to come. Of this singular +expectation the Prophets were, if not the chief authors, at least the +chief exponents. Sometimes he is named, sometimes he is unnamed; +sometimes he is almost identified with some actual Prince of the present +or the coming generation, sometimes he recedes into the distant ages. +But again and again, at least in the late prophetic writings, the vista +is closed by this person, his character, his reign. And almost +everywhere the Prophetic spirit in the delineation of his coming remains +true to itself. He is to be a King, a Conqueror, yet not by the common +weapons of earthly warfare, but by those only weapons which the +Prophetic order recognized; by justice, mercy, truth, and goodness; by +suffering, by endurance, by identification of himself with the joys, the +sufferings of his nation; by opening a wider sympathy to the whole human +race than had ever been offered before. That this expectation, however +explained, existed in a greater or less degree amongst the Prophets is +not doubted by any theologians of any school whatever. It is no matter +of controversy. It is a simply and universally recognized fact that, +filled with these Prophetic images, the whole Jewish nation--nay, at +last, the whole Eastern world--did look forward with longing expectation +to the coming of this future Conqueror. Was this unparalleled +expectation realized? And here again I speak only of facts which are +acknowledged by Germans and Frenchmen no less than by Englishmen, by +critics and by skeptics even more than by theologians and ecclesiastics. +There did arise out of this nation a Character as unparalleled as the +expectation which had preceded him. Jesus of Nazareth was, on the most +superficial no less than on the deepest view of his coming, the greatest +name, the most extraordinary power that has ever crossed the stage of +History. And this greatness consisted not in outward power, but +precisely in those qualities in which from first to last the Prophetic +order had laid the utmost stress,--justice and love, goodness and +truth." [Footnote: _History of the Jewish Church_, i. 519, 520.] + +This is the great fact from which the student of the Old Testament must +never remove his attention. That this wonderful hope and expectation did +suffuse all the utterances of the prophets is not to be gainsaid by any +candid man. That the expectation assumed, as the ages passed, a more and +more definite and personal form is equally certain. Isaiah was perhaps +the first to give distinct shape to this prophetic hope. Ewald thus +summarizes the Messianic idea in the writings of Isaiah:-- + +"There must come some one who should perfectly satisfy all the demands +of the true religion, so as to become the centre from which all its +truth and force should operate. His soul must possess a marvelous and +surpassing nobleness and divine power, because it is his function +perfectly to realize in life the ancient religion, the requirements of +which no one has yet satisfied, and that, too, with that spiritual +glorification which the great prophets had announced. Unless there first +comes some one who shall transfigure this religion into its purest form, +it will never be perfected, and its kingdom will never come. But he will +and must come, for otherwise the religion which demands him would be +false; he is the first true King of the community of the true God, and +as nothing can be conceived of as supplanting him, he will reign forever +in irresistible power; he is the divine-human King, whose coming had +been due ever since the true community had set up a human monarchy in +its midst, but who had never come. He is to be looked for, to be longed +for, to be prayed for; and how blessed it is simply to expect him +devoutly, and to trace out every feature of his likeness. To sketch the +nobleness of his soul is to pursue in detail the possibility of +perfecting all religion; and to believe in the necessity of his coming +is to believe in the perfecting of all divine agency on earth." +[Footnote: _The History of Israel_, iv. 203, 204.] + +It is precisely here that we get at the heart of the Old Testament; this +wonderful fore-looking toward the Messianic manifestations of God upon +the earth, which kindled the hearts of the people and found clearest +utterance by the lips of its most inspired men, which binds this +literature all together, histories, songs, precepts, allegories. This it +is which reveals the true inspiration of these old writings, and which +makes them, to every Christian heart, precious beyond all price. + +Such being the character of these prophetic books, let us glance for a +moment at a few of them, merely for the purpose of locating the prophecy +in the history, and of discerning, when it is possible, the providential +causes which called it forth. + +It is difficult to tell which of these fifteen prophets, whose +utterances are treasured in this collection, first appeared upon the +scene. The probability seems to be that the earliest of them was Joel. +Opinions differ widely; I cannot discuss them nor even cite them; but +the old theory that Joel lived and preached about eight hundred and +seventy-five years before Christ does not seem to me to be invalidated +by modern criticism. He was a native of the Southern Kingdom; and at the +time we have named, the King of Judea was Joash, whose dramatic +elevation to the throne in his seventh year, by Jehoiada the priest, is +narrated in the Book of Kings. It was a time of disturbance and disaster +in Judah and Jerusalem; the boy-king was but a nominal ruler; the regent +was Jehoiada; and incursions of the surrounding tribes, who carried away +the people and sold them as slaves, kept the land in a constant state of +alarm. Worse than this was the visitation of locusts, continuing, as it +would seem, for several years, by which the country was stripped and +devastated. This visitation furnishes the theme of the short discourse +which is here reported. The description of the march of the locusts over +the land is full of poetic beauty; and the people are admonished to +accept this as a divine chastisement for their sins, and to do the works +meet for repentance. Then comes the promise of the divine forgiveness, +and of that great gift of the Spirit, whose fulfillment Peter claimed on +the day of Pentecost: "In the midst of the deepest woes which then +afflicted the kingdom," says Ewald, "his great soul grasped all the more +powerfully the eternal hope of the true community, and impressed it all +the more indelibly upon his people, alike by the fiery glow of his clear +insight and the entrancing beauty of his passionate utterance." +[Footnote: _The History of Israel_, iv. 139.] + +The next prophet in the order of time is undoubtedly Amos. He tells us +that he lived in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah, about seventy years +after Joel. He was a herdsman of Tekoa, a small city of Judah, twelve +miles south of Jerusalem. In these days the Northern Kingdom was far +more prosperous and powerful than the Southern; under Jeroboam II. +Israel had become rich and luxurious; and the prophet was summoned, as +he declares, by the call of Jehovah himself to leave his herds upon the +Judean hills, and betake himself to the Northern Kingdom, there to bear +witness against the pride and oppression of its people. This messenger +and interpreter of Jehovah to his people is a poor man, a laboring man; +but he knows whose commission he bears, and he is not afraid. Stern and +terrible are the woes that fall from his lips: the words vibrate yet +with the energy of his righteous wrath. + +"Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to +come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon +their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of +the midst of the stall; that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; +that devise for themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink +wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they +are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." + +Such luxury always goes hand in hand with contempt of the lowly and +oppression of the poor; it is so to-day; it was so in that far-off time; +and this prophet pours upon it the vials of the wrath of God:-- + +"Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions +from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not +dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not +drink the wine thereof. For I know how manifold are your transgressions +and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a +bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate from their right." + +It is no wonder that Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, writhed under the +scourge of the herdsman prophet, and wanted to be rid of him: "O thou +seer," he cried, "go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there +eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more in +Bethel." But the prophet stood his ground and delivered his message, and +it still resounds as the very voice of God through every land where the +greed of gold makes men unjust, and the love of pleasure banishes +compassion from human hearts. + +The nearest successor of Amos, in this collection, seems to have been +Hosea, who tells us in the opening of his prophecy that the word of the +Lord came unto him in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, +kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of +Israel. There is some doubt about the genuineness of this +superscription; but it was about this time, undoubtedly, that Hosea +flourished. To which kingdom he belonged it is not known; probably, +however, to Israel, with whose affairs his teaching is chiefly +concerned. He must have followed close upon the herdsman of Tekoa; +possibly they were contemporaries. His prophecy, too, is a blast from +the trumpet of the Lord our Righteousness. Such an indictment of a +people has not often been heard. + +"Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a +controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, +nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. There is nought but +swearing and breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing +adultery; they break out, and blood toucheth blood." + +Especially severe is the prophet in his denunciation of the priesthood. + +"They feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their +iniquity. And it shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish +them for their ways, and will reward them their doings." + +These prophecies of Hosea are instinct with a severe morality; the +ethical thoroughness with which he chastises the national sins is +unflinching; but it is not all threatening; now and again we hear the +word of tenderness, the promise of the divine forgiveness:-- + +"I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely; for mine anger +is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall +blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." + +Micah follows Hosea, at an interval of perhaps fifty years. He lived in +a little village of Judah, west of Jerusalem, and exercised his ministry +in both kingdoms, testifying impartially against the wickedness of +Jerusalem and Samaria, though the weight of his censure seems to rest +upon the Judean capital. His strain is an echo of the outcry of Amos and +Hosea; it is the same intense indignation against the violence and +rapacity of the rich, against corrupt judges, false prophets, rascally +traders, treacherous friends. For all these sins condign punishment is +threatened; and yet, after these retributive woes are past, there is +promise of a better day. The great Messianic hope here begins to find +clear utterance; the former prophets have seen in their visions only the +restoration of the people of Israel; to Micah there comes the +anticipation of an individual Leader and Deliverer. + +"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, which art little to be among the +thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth that is to be ruler +in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.... And he +shall stand and shall feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the +majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now +shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." + +Thus slowly broadens the dawn of the Messianic hope. + +The first part of the fourth chapter of Micah, which is a prediction of +the glory that shall come to Zion in the latter day, is verbally +identical with the first part of the second chapter of Isaiah. One of +the prophets must have quoted from the other or else, as Dr. Geikie +suggests, both copied from some older prophet. + +After Micah comes the greatest of the prophets, Isaiah. He appeared upon +the scene in his native city of Jerusalem about the middle of the eighth +century before Christ. His work was mainly done during the reigns of +Ahaz, "the Grasper," one of the vilest and most ungodly of the Judean +monarchs, and of Hezekiah, the good king, about a century and a half +before the destruction of Jerusalem. + +About this time Judea was constantly exposed to the rapacity of the +great Assyrian power before whose armies she finally fell; sometimes her +rulers entered into coalitions with the surrounding nations to resist +the Assyrian; sometimes they submitted and paid heavy tribute. Egypt, on +the south, was also a mighty empire at this time, constantly at war with +Assyria; and the kings of Judah sometimes sought alliances with one of +these great powers, as a means of protection against the other. They +proved to be the upper and nether millstones between which the Jewish +nationality was ground to powder. It was in the midst of these alarming +signs of national destruction that Isaiah arose. Of the prophetic +discourses which he delivered in Jerusalem we have about thirty; his +words are the words of a patriot, a statesman, a servant and messenger +of Jehovah. He warned the kings against these entangling alliances with +foreign powers; he admonished them to stand fast in their allegiance to +Jehovah, and obey his laws; yet he saw that they would not heed his +word, and that swift and sure destruction was coming upon the nation. +And his expectation was not like that of the other prophets, that the +nation as a whole would be saved out of these judgments; to him it was +made plain that only a remnant would survive; but that from that remnant +should spring a noble race, with a purer faith, in whom all the nations +of the earth should be blessed. Of the Messianic hope as it finds +expression in these words of Isaiah I have already spoken. + +This Book of Isaiah contains thirty-one prophetic discourses, some of +them mere fragments. There is reason for doubt as to whether they were +all spoken by Isaiah; when they were gathered up, two hundred years +later, some utterances of other prophets may have been mingled with +them. Indeed it is now regarded as well-nigh certain that the last +twenty-seven chapters are the work of a later prophet,--of one who wrote +during the Captivity. Professor Delitzsch, in the last edition of his +commentary on Isaiah, finally concedes that this is probable. The Book +of Isaiah, he is reported as saying, "may have been an anthology of +prophetic discourses by different authors; that is, it may have been +composed partly and directly by Isaiah, and partly by other later +prophets whose utterances constitute a really homogeneous and +simultaneous continuation of Isaian prophecy. These later prophets so +closely resemble Isaiah in prophetic vision that posterity might, on +that account, well identify them with him,--his name being the correct +common denominator for this collection of prophecies." + +These words of the most distinguished and devout of the Old Testament +critics throw a flood of light on the structure not only of Isaiah, but +of other Old Testament writings; they show how unlike our own were the +primitive ideas of authorship; and how the Pentateuch, for example, +drawn from many sources and revised by many editors, could be called the +law of Moses; how _his_ name may have been the "common denominator" +of all that collection of laws. + +I have shown, perhaps, in these hasty notices, something of the nature +and purpose of five of these prophetic books. Of the rest I must speak +but a single word, for the time fails me to tell of Zephaniah, who in +the time of good King Josiah, denounced the idolatry of the people, the +injustice of its princes and judges, and the corruption of its prophets +and priests, threatened the rebellious with extermination, and promised +to the remnant an enduring peace; of Jeremiah, who about the same time +first lifted up his voice, and continued speaking until after the +destruction of Jerusalem,--from whose writings we may derive a more +complete and intelligible account of the period preceding the Exile than +from any other source; of Nahum, who, just before the fall of Jerusalem, +uttered his oracle against Nineveh; of Obadiah, who, after the fall of +the holy city, launched his thunderbolts against the perfidious Edomites +because of their rejoicing over the fate of Jerusalem; of Ezekiel, the +prophet of the Exile, who wrote among the captives by the rivers of +Babylon; of Haggai and Zechariah, who came back with the returning +exiles, and whose courageous voices cheered the laborers who wrought to +restore the city and the temple; of Malachi, whose pungent reproofs of +the people for their lack of consecration followed the erection of the +second temple, and closed the collection of the Hebrew prophets. + +The limits of this small volume forbid us to enter upon several +interesting critical inquiries respecting the component parts of Isaiah +and Zechariah, and especially the matter of the variations of the +Septuagint from the Hebrew text in the Book of Jeremiah. In this last +named book we find the same phenomena that we encountered in our study +of Samuel and The Kings: the Greek version differs considerably from the +Hebrew; a comparison of the two illustrates, as nothing else can do, the +processes through which the text of these old documents has passed, and +the freedom with which they have been handled by scribes and copyists. +The Hebrew text, from which our English version was made, is generally +better than the Greek; but there are several cases in which the Greek is +manifestly more accurate. + +There is one book, reckoned among these minor prophets, of which I have +not spoken, and to which I ought to make some reference. That is the +book of Jonah. + +It is found among the minor prophets, but it is not in any sense +prophetical; it is neither a sermon nor a prediction; it is a narrative. +Probably it was placed by the Jews among these prophetical books because +Jonah was a prophet. But this book was not written by Jonah; there is +not a word in the book which warrants the belief that he was its author. +It is a story about Jonah, told by somebody else long after Jonah's day. +Jonah, the son of Amittai, was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom in the +days of Jeroboam II., far back in the ninth century. The only reference +to him contained in the Old Testament is found in 2 Kings xiv. 25. But +this book was almost certainly written long after the destruction of +Nineveh, which took place two hundred years later. One reason for this +belief is in the fact that the writer of the book feels it necessary to +explain what kind of a city Nineveh was. He stops in the midst of his +story to say: "Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' +journey." That explanation would have been superfluous anywhere in +Israel in the days of Jeroboam II., and the past tense indicates that it +was written by one who was looking back to a city no longer in +existence. "Nineveh was." The character of the Hebrew also favors the +theory of a later date for the book. We have, therefore, a tale that was +told about Jonah probably three or four hundred years after his day. + +Is it a true tale, or is it a work of didactic fiction? I believe that +it is the latter. It is a very suggestive apologue, full of moral beauty +and spiritual power, designed to convey several important lessons to the +minds of the Jewish people. I cannot regard it as the actual experience +of a veritable prophet of God, because I can hardly imagine that such a +prophet could have supposed, as the Jonah of this tale is said to have +supposed, that by getting out of the bounds of the Kingdom of Israel, he +would get out of the sight of Jehovah. This is precisely what this Jonah +of the story undertook to do. When he was bidden to go to Nineveh and +cry against it, "he rose up to flee unto Tarshish _from the presence +of the Lord;_ and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to +Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with +them unto Tarshish _from the presence of the Lord"_ (ch. i. 3). Is +this actual history? Is this the belief of a genuine prophet of the +Lord? What sort of a prophet is he who holds ideas as crude as this +concerning the Being with whom he is in constant communication and from +whom he receives his messages? If Jonah did entertain this belief, then +it is not likely that he can teach us anything about God which it is +important that we should know. + +Thus, without touching the miraculous features of the story, we have +sound reasons for believing that this cannot be the actual experience of +any veritable prophet of God; that it is not history, but fiction. Why +not? Can any one who has read the parable of the Prodigal Son or the +Good Samaritan doubt that fiction may be used in Sacred Scripture for +the highest purpose? + +But it is argued that the references to this story which are found in +the words of Christ authenticate the story. Our Lord, in Matt. xii, +39-42, refers to this book. He speaks of the repentance of the Ninevites +under the preaching of Jonah as a rebuke to the Jews who had heard the +word of life from him and had not repented; and he uses these words: "An +evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign; and there shall no sign +be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three +days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man +be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." + +This confirms, say the orthodox commentators, the historical accuracy of +the story of Jonah. "If," says Canon Liddon, "he would put his finger on +a fact in past Jewish history which, by its admitted reality, would +warrant belief in his own resurrection, he points to Jonah's being three +days and three nights in the belly of the whale." This use of the +incident by our Lord clearly authenticates the incident as an actual +historical fact. So say the conservative theologians. And so say also +the men who labor to destroy the authority of Christ. Mr. Huxley +perfectly agrees with Canon Liddon. He praises the Canon's penetration +and consistency; he agrees that there can be no other possible +interpretation of Christ's words. The ultra-conservative and the anti- +Christian critics are at one in insisting that Christ stands committed +to the literal truth of the narrative in Jonah. The inference of the +ultra-conservative is that the narrative is historically true; the +inference of the anti-Christian critic is that Jesus is unworthy our +confidence as a religious teacher; that one who fully indorsed such a +preposterous tale cannot be divine. It is instructive to observe the +ultra-conservative critics thus playing steadily into the hands of the +anti-Christian critics, furnishing them with ammunition with which to +assail the very citadel of the Christian faith. It is a kind of business +in which, I am sorry to say, they have been diligently engaged for a +good while. + +Now I, for my part, utterly deny the proposition which these allied +forces of skepticism and traditionalism are enlisted in supporting. I +deny that Jesus Christ can be fairly quoted as authenticating this +narrative. I maintain that he used it allegorically for purposes of +illustration, without intending to express any opinion as to the +historical verity of the narrative. It was used in a literary way, and +not in a dogmatic way. Our Lord speaks always after the manner of men,-- +speaks the common speech of the people, takes up the phrases and even +the fables that he finds upon their lips, and uses them for his own +purposes. He does not stop to criticise all their stories, or to set +them right in all their scientific errors; that would have been utterly +aside from his main purpose, and would certainly have confused them and +led them astray. He speaks always of the rising and the setting of the +sun, using the phrases that were current at that time, and never hinting +at the error underneath them. He knew what these people meant by these +phrases. If he knew that these phrases conveyed an erroneous meaning, +why did he not correct them? So, too, he quotes from the story of the +Creation in Genesis, and never intimates that the six days there +mentioned are not literal days of twenty-four hours each. He knew that +those to whom he was speaking entertained this belief, and put this +interpretation upon these words. Why does he not set it aside? + +These questions may admit of more than one answer; but, taking the very +highest view of Christ's person, it is certainly enough to say that any +such discussion of scientific questions would have been, as even we can +see, palpably unwise. There was no preparation in the human mind at that +day for the reception and verification of such a scientific revelation. +It could not have been received. It would not have been preserved. It +would only have confused and puzzled the minds of his hearers, and would +have shut their minds at once against that moral and spiritual truth +which he came to impart. And what we have said about scientific +questions applies with equal force to questions of Old Testament +criticism. To have entered upon the discussion of these questions with +the Jews would have thwarted his highest purpose. In the largest sense +of the word these Scriptures were true. Their substantial historical +accuracy he wished to confirm. Their great converging lines of light +united in him. He constantly claimed their fulfillment in his person and +his kingdom. Why, then, should he enter upon a kind of discussion which +would have tended to confuse and obscure the main truths which he came +to teach? If, then, he refers to these Scriptures, he uses them for his +own ethical and spiritual purposes,--not to indorse their scientific +errors; not to confirm the methods of interpretation in use among the +Jews. + +But Mr. Huxley insists, and all the ultra-conservative commentators join +him in insisting, that Christ could not, if he had been an honest man, +have spoken thus of Jonah if the story of Jonah had not been +historically accurate. This is the way he puts it: "If Jonah's three +days' residence in the whale is not an 'admitted fact,' how could it +'warrant belief' in the 'coming resurrection'?" [Footnote: _The +Nineteenth Century_, July, 1890.] Mr. Huxley is using Canon Liddon's +phrases here; but he is using them to confute those for whom, as he +knows very well, Canon Liddon does not speak. Those who say that the +story of Jonah is an "admitted reality" may, perhaps, be able to see +that it "warrants belief" in the "coming resurrection." To my own mind, +even this is by no means clear. I do not see how the one event, even if +it were an "admitted reality," could "warrant belief" in the other. No +past event can warrant belief in any future event, unless the two events +are substantially identical. The growth of an acorn into an oak in the +last century "warrants the belief" that an acorn will grow into an oak +in the present century; but it does not "warrant the belief" that a city +planted on an eligible site will grow to be a great metropolis. The one +event might illustrate the other, but no conclusions of logic can be +carried from the one to the other. It is precisely so with these two +events. There is a certain analogy between the experience of Jonah, as +told in the book, and that of our Lord; but it is ridiculous to say that +the one event, if an "admitted reality," "warrants belief" in the +other,--whether it is said by Mr. Huxley or Canon Liddon. Our Lord's +words convey no such meaning. In truth, if we are here dealing with +scientific comparisons, the one event, if taken as an "admitted +reality," _warrants disbelief_ in the other. What are our Lord's +precise words? "_As_ Jonah was three days and three nights in the +whale's belly, _so_ shall the Son of man be three days and three +nights in the heart of the earth." We are told by Mr. Huxley and his +orthodox allies that we must take this as a literal historical parallel, +or not at all; that if we treat it in any other way, we accuse our Lord +of dishonesty. What, then, was the condition of Jonah during these three +days and nights? Was he dead or alive? He was certainly alive, if the +tale is history--very thoroughly alive in all his faculties. He was +praying part of the time, and part of the time he was writing poetry. We +have a long and beautiful poem which he is said to have composed during +that enforced retirement from active life. It would appear that his +release took place immediately after the poem was finished. If, now, +these events are bound together with the links of logic, if the one +event is the historic counterpart of the other, the Son of man, during +the three days of his sojourn in the heart of the earth, was not dead at +all! He was only hidden for a little space from the sight of men. He was +alive all the while, _and there was no resurrection!_ It is to this +that you come when you begin to apply to these parables and allegories +of the Bible the methods of scientific exposition. This may be +satisfactory enough to Mr. Huxley. I should like to know how it suits +his orthodox allies. + +The fact is, that you are not dealing here with equivalents, but with +analogies; not with laws of evidence, but with figures of rhetoric: and +it is absurd to say that one member of an analogy "warrants belief" in +the existence of the other. There is no such logical nexus. The leaven +in the meal does not "warrant belief" in the spread of Christianity, but +it serves to illustrate it. The story of the Prodigal Son does not +"warrant belief" in the fatherly love of God, but it helps us to +understand something of that love, and it helps us precisely as much as +if it had been a veritable history, instead of being, as it is, a pure +work of fiction. + +"What sort of value," asks Mr. Huxley, "as an illustration of God's +methods of dealing with sin, has an account of an event that never +happened?" Such an admonition, he says, is "morally about on a level +with telling a naughty child that a bogy is coming to fetch it away." +Let us apply this maxim to some of Mr. Huxley's homilies:-- + +"Surely," he says in one of his "Lay Sermons," "our innocent pleasures +are not so abundant in this life that we can afford to despise this or +any other source of them. We should fear being banished for our neglect +_to that limbo where the great Florentine tells us are those who +during this life wept when they might be joyful_." [Footnote: _Lay +Sermons and Addresses_, p. 92.] This limbo of Dante's is not, I dare +say, an "admitted reality" in Mr. Huxley's physical geography. "What +sort of value," therefore, has his reference to it? Is he merely raising +the cry of bogy? He certainly does intend what he says as a dissuasive +from a certain course of erroneous conduct. I venture to insist that he +has a real meaning, and that, although the limbo is a myth, the +condition which he intends to illustrate by his allusion to it is a +reality. + +Once more: "I do not suppose that the dead soul of Peter Bell, of whom +the great poet of nature says,-- + + 'A primrose by the river's brim + A yellow primrose was to him, + And it was nothing more,' + +would have been a whit roused from its apathy by the information that +the primrose is a Dicotyledonous Exogen, with a monopetalous corolla and +a central placentation." [Footnote: _Ibid_. p. 91.] + +Does Mr. Huxley believe that Peter Bell was a historical person? If he +was not, how, in the name of biological theology, could his dead soul +have been roused by any information whatever? Yet these sentences of his +have a real and valuable meaning. It is evident that Mr. Huxley does +understand the uses of allegory and fable for purposes of illustration; +that he can employ characters and situations which are not historical, +but purely imaginary, to illustrate the realities which he is trying to +present,--speaking of them all the while just as if they were historical +persons or places, and trusting his readers to interpret him aright. +Such a use of language is common in all literature. To affirm that our +Lord could not resort to it without dishonesty is to deny to him the +ordinary instruments of speech. + +"We may conclude, then," with Professor Ladd, "that the reference to +Jonah does not cover the question whether the prophet's alleged sojourn +in the sea monster is an historical verity; and that it is no less +uncritical than invidious to make the holding of any particular theory +of the Book of Jonah a test of allegiance to the teachings of the +Master." [Footnote: _The Doctrine of Sacred Scripture_, i. 67. ] + +It is evident enough, as Professor Cheyne has said, that the symbolic +meaning of the book was the most important part of it in the New +Testament times. But other and more obvious meanings are conveyed by the +narrative. Indeed, there is scarcely another book in the Old Testament +whose meaning is so clear, whose message is so divine. Apologue though +it is, it is full of the very truth of God. There is not one of the +minor prophecies that has more of the real gospel in it. To the people +who first received it, how full of admonition and reproof it must have +been! That great city Nineveh--a city which was, in its day, as Dr. +Geikie says, "as intensely abhorred by the Jews as Carthage was by Rome, +or France under the elder Napoleon was by Germany"--was a city dear to +God! He had sent his own prophet to warn it of its danger; and his +prophet, instead of being stoned or torn asunder, as the prophets of God +had often been by their own people, had been heard and his message +heeded. The Ninevites had turned to God, and God had forgiven them! God +was no less ready to forgive and save Nineveh than Jerusalem. What a +wonderful disclosure of the love of the universal Father! What a telling +blow, even in those old days, at the "middle wall of partition" by which +the Jew fenced out the Gentile from his sympathy! + +And then the gentle rebuke of Jonah's petulant narrowness! How true is +the touch that describes Jonah as angry because God had forgiven the +Ninevites! His credit as a prophet was gone. I suppose that he was +afraid also, like many theologians of more modern times, that if +threatened penalty were remitted solely on the ground of the repentance +of the sinners, the foundations of the divine government would be +undermined. How marvelously does the infinite pity and clemency of God +shine out through all this story, as contrasted with the petty +consistency and the grudging compassion of man; and how clearly do we +hear in this beautiful narrative the very message of the gospel: "Let +the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and +let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our +God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your +thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." + +May I say, in closing, that the treatment which the Book of Jonah has +received, alike from skeptics and from defenders of the faith, +illustrates, in a striking way, the kind of controversy which is raised +by the attempt to maintain the infallibility of the Bible. The +_crux_ of all the critics, orthodox and heterodox, is the story +about the fish. The orthodox have assumed that the narrative without the +miracle was meaningless, and the heterodox have taken them at their +word. In their dispute over the question whether Jonah did really +compose that psalm in the belly of the fish, with his head festooned +with seaweed, they have almost wholly overlooked the great lessons of +fidelity to duty, of the universal divine fatherhood, and the universal +human brotherhood, which the story so beautifully enforces. How easy it +is for saints as well as scoffers, in their dealing with the messages of +God to men, to tithe the mint, anise, and cummin of the literal sense, +and neglect the weightier matters of judgment, mercy, and truth which +they are intended to convey! + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE LATER HEBREW HISTORIES. + + + +After the Book of the Law had been revised by Ezra, and the Book of the +Prophets had been compiled by Nehemiah, there still remained a body of +sacred writings, not Mosaic in their origin and not from the hands of +any recognized prophet, but still of value in the eyes of the Jews. We +cannot tell the time at which the work of collecting these Scriptures +was begun; possibly it was going on while the Books of the Prophets were +being compiled. This third collection was called from the first by the +Jews, "Ketubim," meaning simply writings; the Greeks afterward called it +by a name which has been anglicized, and which has become the common +designation of these writings among us, "The Hagiographa," or the Holy +Writings. The adjective holy was not a part of the Jewish title; it +would have overstated, somewhat, their first estimate of this part of +their Bible. For while the degree of sacredness attached to these books +gradually increased, they were always held as quite inferior to the +other two groups of Scriptures. For convenience the list of books in +this collection may be here repeated:-- + + The Psalms. + The Proverbs. + Job. + The Song of Solomon. + Ruth. + Lamentations. + Ecclesiastes. + Esther. + Daniel. + Ezra. + Nehemiah. + 1 Chronicles. + 2 Chronicles. + +The arrangement is topical; first, three poetical books, The Psalms, The +Proverbs, and Job; then five so-called Megilloth, or Rolls, read in the +later synagogues on certain great feast days,--The Song of Songs at the +Passover, Ruth at Pentecost, Lamentations on the anniversary of the +burning of the temple, Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Tabernacles, and +Esther at the Feast of Purim; lastly, the historical and quasi-historical +books, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Chronicles. + +Of Ruth I have already spoken in its proper historical connection, +taking it with the Book of Judges. + +In treating of the remaining books I shall not follow the order of the +Hebrew Bible, which I have given above, but shall rather reverse it, +treating first of the historical books, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the +Chronicles, also of Esther and Daniel; then, in a subsequent chapter, of +the poetical books, the Lamentations, the books attributed to Solomon,-- +Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Solomon's Song,--and finally of Job and the +Psalms. + +The histories which, under the title of the "Earlier Prophets," are +contained in the middle group of the Hebrew Scriptures, have been +studied in a former chapter. In this later group of writings we find +certain other historical works which cover the same ground. In the words +of Mr. Horton:-- + +"Taking historical excerpts from the first six books of the Bible, and +then going on in a continuous narrative from the beginning of Judges to +the end of the Second Book of Kings, we have a story--true, a story with +many gaps in it, still a connected story--from the earliest times to the +captivity of Judah. Then, starting from the First Book of Chronicles and +reading on to the end of Nehemiah, we have, in a very compressed form, +though enlarged in some parts, a complete record from Adam to the return +from the Captivity; at the end of this long sweep of narrative comes the +Book of Esther, which is a brief appendix containing a historical +episode of the Captivity. Taking these two distinct histories, we have +two lines of narrative, an older and a later, which run together up to +the Captivity; the older, though covering a shorter time, is much the +larger and fuller; the later, very thin in most parts, becomes very full +in its account of the Temple-worship and Temple-kingship at Jerusalem, +and then continues the story alone up to the end of the Captivity, and +the reestablishment of the Temple-worship after the return." [Footnote: +_Inspiration and the Bible_, pp. 159, 160.] + +The older history, contained in Samuel and Kings, breaks off abruptly in +the time of the Captivity; we know that it must have been written during +the Exile, and could not have been written earlier than about 550 B.C. +The later history, in Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah, begins with Adam, +and goes on, by one or two genealogical tables, for almost two centuries +after the Captivity. In 1 Chronicles iii. 19, the genealogy of +Zerubbabel, who came back with the captives, is carried on for at least +six generations. Counting thirty years for a generation, the table +extends the time of the writing of this record to at least one hundred +and eighty years after the return of the exiles. This occurred in 538 +B.C., and the book must therefore have been written as late as 350 B.C., +or very nearly two centuries after the earlier history was finished. + +There are conclusive reasons for believing that the four books now under +consideration, the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were +originally but one book. In the Hebrew Canon the Chronicles is now but +one book; and in the old Hebrew collections Ezra and Nehemiah were but +one book. It was in the Septuagint that they were first separated. Thus +we have the four certainly reduced to two. And it is not difficult, on +an inspection of the documents, to reduce the two to one. If you will +open your Bible at the last verses of Second Chronicles, beginning with +the twenty-second verse of the last chapter, and, fixing your eyes on +this passage, will ask some one to read to you the first three verses of +the Book of Ezra, you will see how these two books were formerly one; +and how the manuscript was torn in two in the wrong place; so that the +Book of Chronicles actually ends in the middle of a sentence. The period +at the end of this book ought to be expunged. + +The explanatfon of this curious phenomenon is not difficult. The last +group of sacred writings, what the Jews call the Ketubim, was kept open +for additions to a very late day. After this history was written +(Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah) the question arose whether it should be +admitted into the canon. The first answer to this question evidently +was: "We do not need the first part of the history,--the Book of +Chronicles,--for we have the substance of it already in the Books of +Samuel and Kings and in the earlier writings; but we do need the last +part of it, 'Ezra-Nehemiah,' for this carries the history on beyond the +Captivity, and gives the account of the return of the exiles and the +rebuilding of the city and the temple." So they tore the book in two, +and put the last part of it into the growing collection of "Ketubim," or +"Writings." The careless division of the manuscript, not at the +beginning of a paragraph, but in the middle of a sentence, made it +necessary, of course, for the scribe to copy at the beginning of the +Ezra-roll the words belonging to it which had been torn off; but they +were not erased from the first part, and have been left there, as the +old historians say, "unto this day." + +By and by there were requests that this first part--the Chronicles--be +admitted to the Ketubim. The priests and the Levites of the temple would +be sure to urge this request, for the Chronicles is the one book of the +Old Testament in which their order is glorified; and at length the +request was granted; the Chronicles were added to the collection, and as +they went in last they follow Ezra-Nehemiah, although they belong, +chronologically, before it. They stand to-day at the end of the Hebrew +Bible, and thus testify, by their position, respecting the lateness of +the date at which they were admitted to the canon. Thus the Hebrew Bible +ends with an incomplete sentence. + +What this later history may have been called before it was torn in two +we have no means of knowing; but the Jews called the last part of it +(which stands first in their collection) by the name of Ezra, and the +first part of it (which is last in their canon) they named, "Events of +the Times," or "Annals." In the Septuagint this book of the Chronicles +was called "Paraleipomena," "Leavings," "Things Left Over," +"Supplements." Jerome first gave it the name of "Chronicles," by which +we know it. + +The name of the author of this book is unknown. The strong probabilities +are that he was a Levite, connected with the temple service in +Jerusalem. The Levites had charge of the public religious services of +the temple, especially of its music; and the fullness with which this +writer expatiates upon all this part of the ritual shows that it was +very dear to his heart. [Footnote: See 1 Chron. vi. 31-48; xv. 16-24; +xvi 4-42; xxv.2 Chron. v. 12, 13; vii. 6; viii. 14; xx. 19-21; xxiii. +13; xxix. 25-30; xxxi 2; zxxiv. 12; xxxv. 15.] Everything relating to +the Levitical priesthood and its services is dwelt upon in this book +with emphasis and elaboration; as the histories of Samuel and the Kings +are written from the prophetical standpoint, this is most evidently +written from the priestly point of view. + +In these books of the Chronicles the author constantly points out the +sources of his information. He tells us that he quotes from the "Book of +the Kings of Judah and Israel," from the "Acts of the Kings of Israel," +and from "The Story of the Book of the Kings." The identity of these +books is a disputed question. It is supposed by some critics that he +refers to the Books of Kings in our Bible; others maintain that he draws +from another and much larger book of a similar name which has been lost. +The latter theory is generally maintained by the more conservative +critics; and it is easier to vindicate the author's trustworthiness on +this supposition; yet even so there are serious difficulties in the +case; for it is hard to believe that he could have written these annals +without having had before him the earlier record, and between the two +are many discrepancies. The main facts of the history are substantially +the same in the two narratives; but in minor matters the disagreements +and contradictions are numerous. It is part of the purpose of this study +to look difficulties of this kind fairly in the face; it is treason to +the spirit of all truth to refuse to do so. Let us examine, then, a few +of these discrepancies between the earlier and later history. + +In 2 Samuel viii. 4, we are told that in David's victory over Hadadezer +king of Zobah, he took from the latter "a thousand and seven hundred +horsemen." In 1 Chronicles xviii. 4, he is said to have taken "a +thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen." In 2 Samuel xxiv. 9, +David's census is said to have returned 800,000 warriors for Israel, and +500,000 for Judah. In 1 Chronicles xxi. 5, the number is stated as +1,100,000 for Israel, and 470,000 for Judah. In 2 Samuel xxiv. 24, David +is said to have paid Araunah for his threshing-floor fifty shekels of +silver, estimated at about thirty dollars of our money; in 1 Chronicles +xxi. 25, he is said to have given him "six hundred shekels of gold by +weight," amounting to a little more than thirty-four hundred dollars. In +2 Chronicles xiv. i, we read that Asa reigned in the stead of his father +Abijah, and that in his days the land was quiet ten years. Again in the +10th and the 19th verses of the following chapter we learn that from the +fifteenth to the thirty-fifth year of Asa there was no war in the land. +In 1 Kings xv. 32, we are explicitly told that "there was war between +Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days." In 1 Chronicles xx. the +story of the taking of Rabbah seems to be abridged from 2 Samuel xi., +xii.; but the abridgment is curiously done, so that the part taken by +David in the siege and capture of the city is not brought out; and the +whole narrative of David's relation to Uriah and Bathsheba, with the +rebuke of Nathan and the death of David's child, is not alluded to. The +relation of the two narratives at this point is significant; it deserves +careful study. One more curious difference is found in the two accounts +of the numbering of Israel. In 2 Samuel xxiv. 1, we read, "And the anger +of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, +saying, Go, number Israel and Judah." In 1 Chronicles xxi., we read, +"And Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." +The numbering in both narratives is assumed to be a grievous sin; and +the penalty of this sin, which was David's, was visited upon the people +in the form of a pestilence, which slew seventy thousand of them. I +observe that the commentators try to reconcile these statements by +saying that God _permitted_ Satan to tempt David. I wonder if that +explanation affords to any mind a shade of relief. But the older record +utterly forbids such a gloss. "The anger of the Lord against Israel" +prompted the Lord to "move David against them," and the Lord said, "Go, +number Judah and Israel!" It was not a permission; it was a direct +instigation. Then because David did what the Lord moved him to do, "the +Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel," which destroyed seventy thousand +men. We are not concerned to reconcile these two accounts, for neither +of them can be true. Let us not suppose that we can be required, by any +theory of inspiration, to blaspheme God by accusing him of any such +monstrous iniquity. Let no man open his mouth in this day to declare +that the Judge of all the earth instigated David to do a presumptuous +deed, and then slew seventy thousand of David's subjects for the sin of +their ruler. Such a view of God might have been held without censure +three thousand years ago; it cannot be held without sin by men who have +the New Testament in their hands. This narrative belongs to that class +of crude and defective teachings which Jesus, in the Sermon on the +Mount, points out and sets aside. We may, nay we must apply to the +morality of this transaction the principle of judgment which Jesus gives +us in that discourse, and say: "Ye have heard that it hath been said by +them of old time that God sometimes instigates a ruler to do wrong, and +then punishes his people for the wrong done by the ruler which he +himself has instigated; but I say unto you that 'God cannot be tempted +with evil, neither tempteth he any man;' moreover the ruler shall not +bear the sin of the subject, nor the subject the sin of the ruler; for +every man shall give account of himself unto God." It is by the higher +standard that Christ has given us in the New Testament that we must +judge all these narratives of the Old Testament, and when we find in +these old writings statements which represent God as perfidious and +unjust, we are not to try to "harmonize" them with other statements; we +are simply to set them aside as the views of a dark age. + +Such blurred and distorted ideas about God and his truth we do certainly +find here and there in these old writings; the treasure which they have +preserved for us is in earthen vessels; the human element, which is a +necessary part of a written revelation, all the while displays itself. +It is human to err; and the men who wrote the Bible were human. We may +have a theory that God must have guarded them from every form of error, +but the Bible itself has no such theory; and we must try to make our +theories of inspiration fit the facts of the Bible as we find them lying +upon its pages. + +The second portion of this history, the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah, presents +fewer of these difficulties than the Book of Chronicles. It is a +fragmentary, but to all appearance a veracious record of the events +which took place after the first return of the exiles to Jerusalem. The +first caravan returned in the first year of King Cyrus; and the history +extends to the last part of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus,-- +covering a period of more than a hundred years. The documents on which +it is based were largely official; and there is no doubt that +considerable portions of the first book came from the pen of Ezra +himself, and that the second book was made up in part from writings left +by Nehemiah. The language of the second book is Hebrew; that of the +first is partly Hebrew and partly Chaldee or Aramaic. We read in the +fourth chapter of Ezra that a certain letter was written to King +Artaxerxes, and it is said that "the writing of the letter was written +in the Syrian character." The margin of the revised version says +"Aramaic." We find this letter in our Hebrew Bibles in the Aramaic +language. And the writer, after copying the letter in Aramaic, goes +right on with the history in Aramaic; from the twelfth verse of the +fourth chapter to the eighteenth verse of the sixth chapter the language +is all Aramaic; then the historian drops back into Hebrew again, and +goes on to the twelfth verse of the seventh chapter, when he returns to +Aramaic to record the letter of Artaxerxes, which extends to the twenty- +seventh verse. The rest of the book is Hebrew. With the exception of +some short sections of the Book of Daniel, this is the only portion of +our Old Testament that was not written originally in the Hebrew tongue. + +The contents of these two books may be briefly summarized. The first +book tells us how the Persian king Cyrus, in the first year of his +reign, issued a proclamation to the Jews dwelling in his kingdom, +permitting and encouraging them to return to their own country and to +rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The conquest of the Babylonians by the +Persians had placed the captive Jews in vastly improved circumstances. +Between the faith of the Persians and that of the Jews there was close +affinity. The Persians were monotheists; and "Cyrus," as Rawlinson says, +"evidently identified Jehovah with Ormazd, and, accepting as a divine +command the prophecy of Isaiah, undertook to rebuild their temple for a +people who, like his own, allowed no image of God to defile the +sanctuary.... The foundation was then laid for that friendly intimacy +between the two peoples of which we have abundant evidence in the books +of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther." The words of the decree of Cyrus, with +which the Book of Ezra opens, show how he regarded the God of the Jews: +"Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, +and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house +of the Lord, the God of Israel, (he is God,) which is in Jerusalem." The +parenthetical clause is a clear confession of the faith of Cyrus that +Jehovah was only another name for Ormazd; that there is but one God. + +In consequence of this decree, a caravan of nearly fifty thousand +persons, led by Zerubbabel, carrying with them liberal free-will +offerings of those who remained in Babylon for the building of the +temple, went back to Jerusalem, and in the second year began the +erection of the second temple. With this pious design certain Samaritans +interfered, finally procuring an injunction from the successor of Cyrus +by which the building of the temple was interrupted for several years. +On the accession of Darius, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah stirred up +the people to resume the work, and at length succeeded in getting from +the great king complete authority to proceed with it. In the sixth year +of his reign the second temple was completed, and dedicated with great +rejoicing. This closes the first section of the Book of Ezra. The rest +of the book is occupied with the story of Ezra himself, who is said to +have been "a ready scribe in the law of Moses," and who, "in the seventh +year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia," led a second caravan of exiles home +to Jerusalem, with great store of silver and gold and wheat and wine and +oil for the resumption of the ritual worship of the Lord's house. The +story of this return of the exiles is minutely told; and the remainder +of this book is devoted to a recital of the matter of the mixed +marriages between the Jewish men and the women of the surrounding +tribes, which caused Ezra great distress, and which he succeeded in +annulling, so that these "strange women," as they are called, were all +put away. To our eyes this seems a piece of doubtful morality, but we +must consider the changed standards of our time, and remember that these +men might have done with the purest conscientiousness some things which +we could not do at all. + +The Book of Nehemiah is in part a recital by Nehemiah himself of the +circumstances of his coming to Jerusalem, which seems to have taken +place about thirteen years after the coming of Ezra. He was the +cupbearer of Artaxerxes the king; he had heard of the distress and +poverty of his people at Jerusalem, and in the fervid patriotism of his +nature he begged the privilege of going up to Jerusalem to rebuild its +walls. Permission was gained, and the first part of the book contains a +stirring account of the experiences of Nehemiah in building the walls of +Jerusalem. After this work was finished, Nehemiah undertook a census of +the restored city, but he found, as he says, "the book of the genealogy +of them that came up at the first,"--the list of families which appears +in Ezra,--and this he copies. It may be instructive to take these two +lists--the one in Ezra ii. and the one in Nehemiah vii.--and compare +them. After this we have an account of a great congregation which +assembled "in the broad place that was before the water gate," when Ezra +the scribe stood upon "a pulpit of wood" from early morning until +midday, and read to the assembled multitude from the book of the law. +"And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was +above all the people); and when he opened it all the people stood up, +and Ezra blessed Jehovah the great God. And all the people answered, +Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands; and they bowed their +heads, and worshiped Jehovah, with their faces to the ground." Other +scribes stood by, apparently to take turns in the reading; and it is +said that "they read in the book, in the law of the Lord distinctly [or, +'with an interpretation,' Marg.], and they gave the sense, so that they +understood the reading." From this it has been inferred that the people +had already become, in their sojourn in the East, more familiar with +Aramaic than with their own tongue, and that they were unable to +understand the Hebrew without some words of interpretation. It is +doubtful, however, whether all this meaning can be read into this +passage. At any rate, we have here, undoubtedly, the history of the +inauguration of the reading of the law as one of the regular acts of +public worship. And this must have been about 440 B.C. + +The narrative of the first complete and formal observance of the Feast +of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua; the narrative of the solemn +league and covenant by which the people bound themselves to keep the +law; the narrative of the dedication of the wall of the city, and the +account of various reforms which Nehemiah prosecuted, with certain lists +of priests and Levites, fill up the remainder of the book. + +Taking it all in all it is a very valuable record; no historical book of +the Old Testament gives greater evidence of veracity; none excels it in +human interest. The pathetic tale of the return of this people from +their long exile, of the rebuilding of their city and their temple, and +of the heroic and self-denying labors of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, the +governors, and Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets, and Ezra the scribe, +with all their coadjutors, is full of significance to all those who +trace in the history of the people of Israel, more clearly than anywhere +else, the increasing purpose of God which runs through all the ages. + +That portions of the first book were written by Ezra, and of the second +book by Nehemiah, is not doubted; but both books were revised somewhat +by later hands; additions were undoubtedly made after the death of +Nehemiah; for one, at least, of the genealogies shows us a certain +Jaddua as high priest, and tells us that he was the great grandson of +the man who was high priest when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. It is not +probable that Nehemiah lived to see this Jaddua in the high priest's +office. It is probable that the last revision of the Bible was made some +time after 400 B.C. + +I have now to speak, in the conclusion of this chapter, of two other +books of this last group, concerning which there has always been much +misconception, the Book of Esther and the Book of Daniel. Esther stands +in our Bibles immediately after Ezra-Nehemiah, while Daniel is included +among the prophets. But in the Hebrew Bibles both books are found in the +group which was last collected and least valued. + +I have styled these historical books; are they truly historical? That +they are founded upon fact I do not doubt; but it is, perhaps, safer to +regard them both rather as historical fictions than as veritable +histories. The reason for this judgment may appear as we go on with the +study. + +The Book of Esther may be briefly summarized. The scene is laid in +Shushan the palace, better known as Susa, one of the royal residences of +the kings of Persia. The story opens with a great feast, lasting one +hundred and eighty days, given by the King Ahasuerus to all the nabobs +of the realm. It is assumed that this king was Xerxes the Great, but the +identification is by no means conclusive. At the close of this +monumental debauch, the king, in his drunken pride, calls in his queen +Vashti to show her beauty to the inebriated courtiers. She refuses, and +the refusal ought to be remembered to her honor; but this book does not +so regard it. The sympathy of the book is with the bibulous monarch, and +not with his chaste and modest spouse. The king is very wroth, and after +taking much learned advice from his counselors, puts away his queen for +this act of insubordination, and proceeds to look for another. His +choice falls upon a Jewish maiden, a daughter of the Exile, who has been +brought up by her cousin Mordecai. Esther, at Mordecai's command, at +first conceals her Jewish descent from the king. An opportunity soon +comes for Mordecai to reveal to Esther a plot against the king's life; +and the circumstance is recorded in the chronicles of the realm. + +Soon after this a certain Haman is made Grand Vizier of the kingdom, and +Mordecai the Jew refuses to do obeisance to him; in consequence of which +Haman secures from the king an edict ordering the assassination of all +the Jews in the kingdom. His wrath against Mordecai being still further +inflamed, he erects a gallows fifty cubits high, with the purpose of +hanging thereon the testy Israelite. The intervention of Esther puts an +end to these malicious schemes. At the risk of her life she presents +herself before the king, and gains his favor; then, while Haman's +purpose halts, the king is reminded, when the annals of his kingdom are +read to him on a wakeful night, of the frustration of the plot against +his person by Mordecai, and learning that no recompense has been made to +him, suddenly determines to elevate and honor him; and the consequence +is, that Haman himself, his purposes being disclosed by the queen, is +hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and Mordecai is +elevated to Hainan's place. The decree of an Eastern king cannot be +annulled, and the massacre of the Jews still remains a legal +requirement; yet Esther and Mordecai are permitted to send royal orders +to all parts of the realm authorizing the Jews upon the day of the +appointed massacre to stand for their lives, and to kill as many as they +can of their enemies. Thus encouraged, and supported also by the king's +officials in every province, who are now the creatures of Mordecai, the +Jews turn upon their enemies, and slay in one day seventy-five thousand +of them,--five hundred in the palace of Shushan,--among whom are the ten +sons of Haman. On the evening of this bloody day, the king says to +Esther the queen: "The Jews have slain five hundred men in Shushan the +palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest +of the king's provinces? [From this sample of their ferocity you can +judge how much blood must have been shed throughout the kingdom.] Now +what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee; or what is thy +request further? and it shall be done." It might be supposed that this +fair Jewish princess would be satisfied with this banquet of blood, but +she is not; she wants more. "Then said Esther, if it please the king, +let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to-morrow also, +according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged +upon the gallows." The request is granted; the next day three hundred +more Persians are butchered in Shushan the palace; and the dead bodies +of the ten sons of Haman, weltering in their gore, are lifted up and +hanged upon the gallows, and all to please Queen Esther! If a single Jew +loses his life in this outbreak, the writer forgets to mention it. It is +idle to say that this is represented as a defensive act on the part of +the Jews; the impression is given that the Persians, by the menacing +action of their own officials under Mordecai's authority, were +completely cowed, and were simply slaughtered in their tracks by the +infuriated Jews. + +As a memorial of this feast of blood, the Jewish festival of Purim was +instituted, which is kept to this day; and the Book of Esther is read at +this feast, in dramatic fashion, with passionate responses by the +congregation. + +Is this history? There is every reason to hope that it is not. That some +deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in Persia may be commemorated +by the feast of Purim is possible; that precisely such a fiendish +outbreak of fanatical cruelty as this ever occurred, we may safely and +charitably doubt. The fact that the story was told, and that it gained +great popularity among the Jews, and by some of those in later ages came +to be regarded as one of the most sacred books of their canon is, +however, a revelation to us of the extent to which the most baleful and +horrible passions may be cherished in the name of religion. It is +precisely for this purpose, perhaps, that the book has been preserved in +our canon. If any one wishes to see the perfect antithesis of the +precepts and the spirit of the gospel of Christ, let him read the Book +of Esther. Frederick Bleek is entirely justified in his statement that +"a spirit of revenge and persecution prevails in the book, and that no +other book of the Old Testament is so far removed as this is from the +spirit of the gospel." [Footnote: Introduction to the Old Testament, i. +450.] For it is not merely true that these atrocities are here recited; +they are clearly indorsed. There is not a word said in deprecation of +the beastliness of the king or the vindictiveness of the hero and the +heroine. It is clear, as Bleek says, "that the author finds a peculiar +satisfaction in the characters and mode of acting of his Jewish +compatriots, Esther and Mordecai; and that the disposition shown by them +appears to him as the right one, and one worthy of their nation." +"Esther the beautiful queen," whose praises have been sung by many of +our poets, possesses, indeed, some admirable qualities; her courage is +illustrious; her patriotism is beautiful; but her bloodthirstiness is +terrible. + +As to the time when this book was written, or who wrote it, I am not +curious. Probably it was written long after the Exile, but by some one +who was somewhat familiar with the manners of Oriental courts. The name +of God is not once mentioned in the book; and it seems like blasphemy to +intimate that the Spirit of God could have had anything to do with its +composition. It is absolutely sickening to read the commentaries, which +assume that it was dictated by the Holy Ghost, and which labor to +justify and palliate its frightful narrative. One learns, with a sense +of relief, that the Jews themselves long disputed its admission to their +canon; that the school of Schammai would not accept it, and that several +of the wisest and best of the early fathers of the Christian church, +Athanasius and Melito of Sardis among the rest, denied it a place in +sacred Scripture. Dr. Martin Luther is orthodox enough for me, and he, +more than once, expressed the hearty wish that the book had perished. +That, indeed, we need not desire; let it remain as a dark background on +which the Christian morality may stand forth resplendent; as a striking +example of the kind of ideas which Christians ought not to entertain, +and of the kind of feelings which they ought not to cherish. + +The Book of Daniel brings us into a very different atmosphere. Esther is +absolutely barren of religious ideas or suggestions; Daniel is full of +the spirit of faith and prayer. Whether the character of Daniel, as here +presented, is a sketch from life or a work of the imagination, it is a +noble personality. The self-control, the fidelity to conscience, the +heroic purposes which are here attributed to him, make up a picture +which has always attracted the admiration of generous hearts. + +"As in the story of the Three Children," says Dean Stanley, "so in that +of the Den of Lions, the element which has lived on with immortal vigor +is that which tells how, 'when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, +he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks +to God, as he did aforetime.' How often have these words confirmed the +solitary protest, not only in the Flavian amphitheatre, but in the +ordinary yet not more easy task of maintaining the right of conscience +against arbitrary power or invidious insult! How many an independent +patriot or unpopular reformer has been nerved by them to resist the +unreasonable commands of king or priest! How many a little boy at school +has been strengthened by them for the effort, when he has knelt down by +his bedside for the first time to say his prayers in the presence of +indifferent or scoffing companions.... Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego +in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel in the court of Darius, are the +likenesses of 'the small transfigured band whom the world cannot tame,' +who, by faith in the Unseen, have in every age 'stopped the mouths of +lions, and quenched the violence of fire.' This was the example to those +on whom, in all ages, in spirit if not in letter, 'the fire had no +power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats +changed, nor the smell of fire passed upon them;' but it was 'as it were +a moist, whistling wind, and the form of the fourth, who walked with +them in the midst of the fire, was like a Son of God.'" [Footnote: +_History of the Jewish Church_, pp. 41, 42.] + +Was Daniel a historical person? The question has been much disputed, but +I think that we may safely answer it in the affirmative. It is true that +in all these writings of the later period of Israel Daniel is mentioned +but twice, both times in the Book of Ezekiel (xiv. 14; xxviii. 3). The +first of these allusions is a declaration that a few righteous men +cannot save a wicked city, when the decree of destruction against it has +been issued; "though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, +they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith +the Lord God." The other is in a prophecy against the King of Tyre, in +which he is represented as saying to himself that he is wiser than +Daniel; that there is no secret that can be hidden from him. Whether +these casual uses of the name of Daniel for purposes of illustration can +be regarded as establishing his historical character may be questioned. +And it is a singular fact that we have not in Ezra, or Nehemiah, or +Haggai, or Zechariah, or Malachi, any reference to the existence of +Daniel. Nevertheless, it is hardly to be supposed that such a character +was wholly fictitious; we may well suppose that he existed, and that the +narratives of his great fidelity and piety are at any rate founded upon +fact. + +The first six chapters of the book are not ascribed to Daniel as their +author; he is spoken of in the third person, and sometimes in a way that +a good man would not be likely to speak about himself. The remainder of +the book claims to be written by him. The question is whether this claim +is to be taken as an assertion of historical fact, or as a device of +literary workmanship. Ecclesiastes was undoubtedly written long after +the Exile, yet it purports to have been composed by King Solomon. The +author puts his words into the mouth of Solomon, to gain attention for +them. It is not fair to call this a fraud; it was a perfectly legitimate +literary device. It is entirely possible that this may be the case with +the author of this book. Daniel was a person whose name was well-known +among his contemporaries, and the author makes him his mouthpiece. There +may have been a special reason why the author should have desired to +send out these narratives and visions under the name of a hero of +antiquity, a reason which we shall presently discover. + +The Book of Daniel is not what is commonly called a prophecy; it is +rather an apocalypse. It belongs to a class of literature which sprang +up in the last days of the Jewish nationality, after the old prophets +had disappeared; it is designed to comfort the people with hopes of +future restoration of the national power; its method is that of vision +and symbolic representation. Daniel is the only book of this kind in the +Old Testament; the New Testament canon closes, as you know, with a +similar book. I shall not undertake to interpret to you these visions of +the Book of Daniel; they are confessedly obscure and mysterious. But +there is one portion of the book, the eleventh chapter, which is +admitted to be a minute and realistic description of the coalitions and +the conflicts between the Graeco-Syrian and the Graeco-Egyptian kings, +events which took place about the middle of the second century before +Christ. These personages are not named, but they are vividly described, +and the intrigues and vicissitudes of that portion of Jewish history in +which they are the chief actors are fully told. Moreover the recital is +put in the future tense; "There shall stand up yet three kings in +Persia; and the fourth shall be richer than they all; and when he is +waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm +of Greece." If, now, the Book of Daniel was written in the early days of +the Exile, this was a very circumstantial prediction of what happened in +the second century,--a prediction uttered three hundred years before the +event. And respecting these predictions, if such they are, we must say +this, that we have no others like them. The other prophets never +undertake to tell the particulars of what is coming to pass; they give +out, in terms very large and general, the nature of the events which are +to come. No such carefully elaborated programme as this is found in any +other predictive utterance. + +But there are those--and they include the vast majority of the leading +Christian scholars of the present day--who say that these words were not +written in the early days of the Exile; that they must have been written +about the middle of the second century; that they were therefore an +account of what was going on, by an onlooker, couched in these phrases +of vision and prophecy. The people of Israel were passing through a +terrible ordeal; they needed to be heartened and nerved for resistance +and endurance. Their heroic leader, Judas Maccabeus, was urging them on +to prodigies of valor in their conflict with the vile Antiochus; such a +ringing manifesto as this, put forth in the progress of the conflict, +might have a powerful influence in reinforcing their patriotism and +confirming their faith. It might also have appeared at some stage of the +conflict when it would have been imprudent and perhaps impossible to +secure currency for the book if the reference to existing rulers had +been explicit; such a device as the author adopted may have been +perfectly understood by the readers; although slightly veiled in the +form of its deliverance, it was, perhaps, for this very reason, all the +better fitted for its purpose. + +It might, then, have been written when the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae +were wasting the fields of Palestine with their conflicts. But was it +written then? How do we know that it was not a circumstantial prediction +made three hundred years before? We do not know, with absolute +certainty, when it was written; but there are strong reasons for +believing that the later date is the true date. + +1. The book is not in the Hebrew collection of the Prophets. That +collection was made at least a hundred years after the time at which +Daniel is here said to have lived; if so great a prophecy had been +existing then, it is strange that it should not have been gathered with +the other prophets into Nehemiah's collection. It is found, instead, +among the Ketubim,--the later and supplementary writings of the Hebrew +Bible. + +2. It is strange also, as I have intimated, that no mention of Daniel or +of his book is found in the histories of the Exile and the return, or in +any of the prophecies uttered in Israel after the return. That there +should be no allusion in any of these books to so distinguished a +personage can hardly be explained. + +3. Jesus, the son of Sirach, one of the writers of the Apocrypha, who +lived about 200 B.C., gives a full catalogue of all the great worthies +of Israel; he has a list of the prophets; he names all the other +prophets; he does not name Daniel. + +4. The nature of this prediction, if it be a prediction, is +unaccountable. Daniel is said to have lived in the Babylonian period, +and looked forward from that day. His people were in exile, but there is +not a vision of his that has any reference to their return from the +captivity, to the rebuilding of the temple, or to any of the events of +their history belonging to the two centuries following. It is strange +that if, standing at that point of time, he was inspired to predict the +future of the Jewish people, he should not have had some message +respecting those great events in their history which were to happen +within the next century. Instead of this, his visions, so far as his own +people are concerned, overleap three centuries and land in the days of +Antiochus Epiphanes. Here they begin at once to be very specific; they +tell all the particulars of this period, but beyond this period they +give no particulars at all; the vision of the Messianic triumph which +follows is vague and general like the rest of the prophecies. These +circumstances strongly support the theory of the later date. + +5. Words appear in this writing which almost certainly fix it at a later +date than the Babylonian period. There are certainly nine undoubted +Persian words in this book; there are no Persian words in Ezekiel, who +lived at the time when Daniel is placed at the Babylonian court, nor in +Haggai, Zechariah, or Malachi. There are several Greek words, names of +musical instruments, and it is almost certain that no Greek words were +in use in Babylonia at that early day. This philological argument may +seem very dubious and far-fetched, but it is really one of the most +conclusive tests of the date of a document. There is no witness so +competent as the written word. Let me give you a homely illustration. +Suppose you find in some late history of the United States a quoted +letter said to have been written by President Zachary Taylor, who died +in 1850, respecting a certain political contest. The letter contains +the following paragraph:-- + +"On receiving this intelligence, I called up the Secretary of State by +telephone, and asked him how he explained the defeat. He told me that, +in his opinion, boodle was at the bottom of it. I determined to make an +investigation, and after wiring to the member of Congress in that +district, I ordered my servant to engage me a section in a Pullman car, +and started the same night for the scene of the contest." + +Now of course you know that this paragraph could not have been written +by President Taylor, nor during the period of his administration. The +telephone was not then in existence; there were no Pullman cars; the +words "boodle" and "wire," in the sense here used, had never been heard. +In precisely the same way the trained philologist can often determine +with great certainty the date of a writing. He knows the biography of +words or word-forms; and he may know that some of the words or the word- +forms contained in a certain writing were not yet in the language at the +date when it is said to have been written. It is by evidence of this +nature that the critics fix the date of the Book of Daniel at a period +long after the close of the Babylonian empire. + +This verdict reduces, somewhat, the element of the marvelous contained +in the book; it does not in any wise reduce the moral and spiritual +value of it. The age of the Maccabees, when this book appeared, was one +of the great ages of Jewish history. Judas Maccabeus is one of the first +of the Israelitish heroes; and the struggle, in which he was the leader, +against the dissolute Syrian Greeks brought out some of the strongest +qualities of the Hebrew character. The genuine humility, the fervid +consecration, the dauntless faith of the Jews of this generation put to +shame the conduct of their countrymen in many ages more celebrated. And +it cannot be doubted that this book was both the effect and the cause of +this lofty national purpose. "Rarely," says Ewald, "does it happen that +a book appears as this did, in the very crisis of the times, and in a +form most suited to such an age, artificially reserved, close and +severe, and yet shedding so clear a light through obscurity, and so +marvelously captivating. It was natural that it should soon achieve a +success entirely corresponding to its inner truth and glory. And so, for +the last time in the literature of the Old Testament, we have in this +book an example of a work which, having sprung from the deepest +necessities of the noblest impulses of the age, can render to that age +the purest service; and which, by the development of events immediately +after, receives with such power the stamp of Divine witness that it +subsequently attains imperishable sanctity." [Footnote: Quoted by +Stanley, _History of the Jewish Church_, iii. p. 336.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE POETICAL BOOKS. + + + +The poetical books of the Old Testament now invite our attention,--"The +Lamentations," "Proverbs," "Ecclesiastes," "The Song of Solomon," "Job," +and "The Psalms." Ecclesiastes is not in poetical form, but it is a +prose poem; the movement of the language is often lyrical, and the +thought is all expressed in poetic phrases. The other books are all +poetical in form as well as in fact. + +LAMENTATIONS, called in the Hebrew Bible by the quaint title "Ah How," +the first two words of the book, and in the Greek Bible "Threnoi," +signifying mourning, is placed in the middle of the latest group of the +Hebrew writings. In the English Bible it follows the prophecy of +Jeremiah. It is called in our version "The Lamentations of Jeremiah." +This title preserves the ancient tradition, and there is no reason to +doubt that the tradition embodies the truth. "In favor of this opinion," +says Bleek, "we may note the agreement of the songs with Jeremiah's +prophecies in their whole character and spirit, in their purport, and in +the tone of disposition shown in them, as well as in the language.... As +regards the occasion and substance of these songs, the two first and the +two last relate to the misery which had been sent on the Jewish people, +and particularly on Jerusalem; the middle one, however, chiefly refers +to the personal sufferings of the author." [Footnote: Vol. ii. p. 102. ] + +These five parts are not the five chapters of a book; they are five +distinct poems, each complete in itself, though they are all connected +in meaning. You notice the regularity of the structure, which is even +exhibited to some extent in the Old Version. The first and second, the +fourth and fifth, have each twenty-two verses or stanzas; the third one +has sixty-six stanzas. All but the last are acrostical poems. There are +twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet; each of these letters, in +regular order, begins a verse in four of these songs; in the third +lamentation there are three verses for each letter. + +The time at which these elegies were written was undoubtedly the year of +the capture of Jerusalem by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, 586 B.C. The +Chaldean army had been investing the city for more than a year; the +walls were finally broken down, and the Chaldeans rushed in; as they +gained entrance on one side, the wretched King Zedekiah escaped on the +other with a few followers and fled down the Jericho road; he was +pursued and overtaken, his sons and princes were slain before his face, +then his own eyes were put out, and he was led away in chains to +Babylon, where he afterward died in captivity. After a few months' work +of this sort, a portion of the Chaldeans under Nebuzar-adan returned to +the dismantled and pillaged city and utterly destroyed both the city and +the temple. It is supposed that Jeremiah, who was allowed to remain in +the city during this bloody interval, wrote these elegies in the midst +of the desolation and fear then impending. "Never," says Dean Milman, +"was ruined city lamented in language so exquisitely pathetic. Jerusalem +is, as it were, personified and bewailed with the passionate sorrow of +private and domestic attachment; while the more general pictures of the +famine, common misery of every rank and age and sex, all the desolation, +the carnage, the violation, the dragging away into captivity, the +remembrance of former glories, of the gorgeous ceremonies, and of the +glad festivals, the awful sense of the Divine wrath, heightening the +present calamities, are successively drawn with all the life and reality +of an eye-witness." [Footnote: _History of the Jews_, i. 446.] The +ethical and spiritual qualities of the book are pure and high; the +writer does not fail to enforce the truth that it is because "Jerusalem +hath grievously sinned" that "she is become an unclean thing." And in +the midst of all this calamity there is no rebellion against God; it is +only the cry of a desolate but trusting soul to a just and faithful +Ruler. + +THE PROVERBS, in the Hebrew Bible, is called "Mishle," or sometimes +"Mishle Shelomoh." The first word signifies Parables or Proverbs or +Sayings; the second word is the supposed name of the author, Solomon. By +the later Jews it is sometimes called "Sepher Chokmah,"--the Book of +Wisdom,--the same title as that which is borne by one of the apocryphal +books. + +Here, doubtless, we have again, in the name of the author, what +Delitzsch calls a common denominator. On this subject the words of +William Aldis Wright, in Smith's "Bible Dictionary," express a +conservative judgment:-- + +"The superscriptions which are affixed to several portions of the Book +of Proverbs in i. 1, x. 1, xxv. 1, attribute the authorship of those +portions to Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. With the +exception of the last two chapters, which are distinctly assigned to +other authors, it is probable that the statement of the superscriptions +is in the main correct, and that the majority of the proverbs contained +in the book were uttered or collected by Solomon. It was natural and +quite in accordance with the practice of other nations that the Hebrews +should connect Solomon's name with a collection of maxims and precepts +which form a part of their literature to which he is known to have +contributed most largely (1 Kings, iv. 32). In the same way the Greeks +attributed most of their sayings to Pythagoras; the Arabs to Lokman, Abu +Obeid, Al Mofaddel, Meidani, and Samakhshari; the Persians to Ferid +Attar; and the northern people to Odin. + +"But there can be no question that the Hebrews were much more justified +in assigning the Proverbs to Solomon than the nations which have just +been enumerated were in attributing the collections of national maxims +to the traditional authors above mentioned." [Footnote: Art. "Book of +Proverbs."] + +This is, undoubtedly, as much as can be truly said respecting the +Solomonian authorship of these sayings. Professor Davidson, writing at a +later day, is more guarded. + +"In the book which now exists we find gathered together the most +precious fruits of the wisdom of Israel during many hundreds of years, +and undoubtedly the later centuries were richer, or at all events +fuller, in their contributions than the earlier. The tradition, however, +which connects Solomon with the direction of mind known as 'The Wisdom' +cannot be reasonably set aside.... Making allowances for the +exaggerations of later times, we should leave history and tradition +altogether unexplained if we disallowed the claim of Solomon to have +exercised a creative influence upon the wisdom in Israel." [Footnote: +Art. "Proverbs," _Encyc. Brit._] + +The book is divided into several sections: + +1. A general introduction, explaining the character and aim of the book, +which occupies the first six verses. + +2. A connected discourse upon wisdom, not in the form of maxims, but +rather in the manner of a connected essay, fills the first nine +chapters. + +3. The next thirteen chapters (x.-xxii. 16) contain three hundred and +seventy-four miscellaneous proverbs, each consisting of two phrases, the +second of which is generally antithetical to the first, as "A wise son +maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is a heaviness to his mother." +There is only one exception (xix. 7), where the couplet is a triplet. +Probably one phrase has been lost. The heading of this section is "The +Proverbs of Solomon;" the section ends with the twenty-second chapter. + +4. From xxii. 17 to xxiv. 22 is a more connected discussion, though in +the proverbial form, of the principles of conduct. This is introduced by +a brief exhortation to listen to "the words of the wise." + +5. At xxiv. 23, begins another short section which extends through the +chapter, under this title: "These also are sayings of the wise." + +6. The next five chapters (xxv.-xxix.) have for their caption this +sentence: "These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of +Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out." + +7. Chapter xxx. is said to contain "The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, +the oracle." The author is wholly unknown. + +8. Chapter xxxi. 1-9, contains "The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy +that his mother taught him." He too stands here upon the sacred page but +the shadow of a name. + +9. The book closes with an acrostical poem---twenty-two verses beginning +with the Hebrew letters in the order of the alphabet--upon "The Virtuous +Woman." The word "virtue" here is used in the Roman sense; it signifies +rather the vigorous woman, the capable woman. + +Of these sections it seems probable that the one here numbered 6 is the +oldest, and that it contains the largest proportion of Solomonian +sayings. Professor Davidson thinks that it cannot have taken its present +form earlier than the eighth century. + +The character of the teaching of the book is not uniform, but on the +whole it is best described as prudential rather than prophetic. It +embodies what we are in the habit of calling "good common sense." There +is an occasional maxim whose application to our own time may be doubted, +and now and then one whose morality has been superseded by the higher +standards of the New Testament; but, after making all due deductions, we +shall doubtless agree that it is a precious legacy of practical counsel, +and shall consent to these words of Professor Conant:-- + +"The gnomic poetry of the most enlightened of other nations will not +bear comparison with it in the depth and certainty of its foundation +principles, or in the comprehensiveness and moral grandeur of its +conceptions of human duty and responsibility." [Footnote: Smith's +_Bible Dictionary_, iii. 2616. ] + +Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher, bears in the Hebrew collection the name, +"Koheleth," which means the assembler of the people, and therefore, +probably, the man who addresses the assembly. Ecclesiastes is the Greek +name of the book in the Septuagint; we have simply copied the Greek word +in English letters. + +The first verse is, "The words of Koheleth (the Preacher), the son of +David, King in Jerusalem." The only son of David who was ever king in +Jerusalem was Solomon; was Solomon the author of this book? This is the +apparent claim; the question is whether we have not here, as in the case +of Daniel, a book put forth pseudonymously; whether the author does not +personate Solomon, and speak his message through Solomon's lips. That +this is the fact modern scholars almost unanimously maintain. Their +reasons for their opinion may be briefly stated: + +1. In the conclusion of the book the author speaks in his own person, +laying aside the thin disguise which he has been wearing. In several +other passages the literary veil becomes transparent. Thus (i. 12), "I +Koheleth was king over Israel in Jerusalem." This sounds like the voice +of one looking backward and trying to put himself in Solomon's place. +Again, in this and the following chapter, he says of himself: "I have +gotten me great wisdom above all that were before me in Jerusalem;" "I +was great, and increased more than all that were before me in +Jerusalem," etc.,--"all of which," says Bleek, "does not appear very +natural as coming from the son of David, who first captured Jerusalem." +Nobody had been before him in Jerusalem except his father David. + +2. The state of society as described in the book, and particularly the +reference to rulers, agree better with the theory that it was written +during the Persian period, after the Captivity, when the satraps of the +Persian king were ruling with vacillating arbitrariness and fitful +violence. + +3. The religious condition of the people as here depicted, and the +religious ideas of the book represent the period following the +Captivity, and do not represent the golden age of Israel. + +4. More important and indeed perfectly decisive is the fact that the +book is full of Chaldaisms, and that the Hebrew is the later Hebrew, of +the days of Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Esther. It could not have been +written by Solomon, any more than the "Idylls of the King" could have +been written by Edmund Spenser. There are those, of course, who maintain +that the book was written by Solomon; just as there are those who still +maintain that the sun revolves around the earth. The reason for this +opinion is found in the first sentence of the book itself. The book +announces its own author, it is said; and to question the truth of this +claim is to deny the veracity of Scripture. On this question we may +call, from the array of conservative writers who have given us Smith's +"Bible Dictionary," such a witness as Professor Plumptre:-- + +"The hypothesis that every such statement in a canonical book must be +received as literally true is, in fact, an assumption that inspired +writers were debarred from forms of composition which were open, without +blame, to others. In the literature of every other nation the form of +personated authorship, when there is no _animus decipiendi_, has +been recognized as a legitimate channel for the expression of opinions, +or the quasi-dramatic representation of character. Why should we venture +on the assertion that if adopted by the writers of the Old Testament it +would make them guilty of falsehood?...There is nothing that need +startle us in the thought that an inspired writer might use a liberty +which has been granted without hesitation to the teachers of mankind in +every age and country." [Footnote: Art. "Ecclesiastes," vol. i. p. +645.] + +That such is the character of the book and that it appeared some time +during the Persian age are well-ascertained results of scholarship. + +The doctrine of the book is not so easily summarized. It is a hard book +to interpret. Dr. Ginsberg gives a striking _resume_ of the +different theories of its teaching which have been promulgated. There is +no room here to enter upon the great question. Let it suffice to say +that we seem to have in these words the soliloquy of a soul struggling +with the problem of evil, sometimes borne down by a dismal skepticism, +sometimes asserting his faith in the enduring righteousness. The +writer's problem is the one to which Mr. Mallock has given an +epigrammatic statement: "Is life worth living?" He greatly doubts, yet +he strongly hopes. Much of the time it appears to him that the best +thing a man can do is to enjoy the present good and let the world wag. +But the outcome of all this struggle is the conviction that there is a +life beyond this life and a tribunal at which all wrongs will be +righted, and that to fear God and keep his commandments is the whole +duty of man. There are thus many passages in the book which express a +bitter skepticism; to winnow the wheat from the chaff and to find out +what we ought to think about life is a serious undertaking. It is only +the wise and skillful interpreter who can steer his bark along these +tortuous channels of reflection, and not run aground. Yet, properly +interpreted, the book is sound for substance of doctrine, and the +experience which it delineates, though sad and depressing, is full of +instruction for us. Dean Stanley's words about it are as true as they +are eloquent; they will throw some light on the path which lies just +before us:-- + +"As the Book of Job is couched in the form of a dramatic argument +between the patriarch and his friends, as the Song of Songs is a +dramatic dialogue between the Lover and the Loved One, so the Book of +Ecclesiastes is a drama of a still more tragic kind. It is an +interchange of voices, higher and lower, mournful and joyful, within a +single human soul. It is like the struggle between the two principles in +the Epistle to the Romans. It is like the question and answer of 'The +Two Voices' of our modern poet.... Every speculation and thought of the +human heart is heard and expressed and recognized in turn. The +conflicts, which in other parts of the Bible are confined to a single +verse or a single chapter, are here expanded into a whole book." And +after quoting a few of the darker and more cynical utterances, this +clear-sighted teacher goes on: "Their cry is indeed full of doubt and +despair and perplexity; it is such as we often hear from the melancholy, +skeptical, inquiring spirits of our own age; such as we often refuse to +hear and regard as unworthy even a good man's thought or care, but the +admission of such a cry into the Book of Ecclesiastes shows that it is +not beneath the notice of the Bible, not beneath the notice of God." +[Footnote: _History of the Jewish Church_, ii. 283, 284.] + +"THE SONG OF SONGS" is another of the books ascribed to Solomon. It may +have been written in Solomon's time; that it was composed by Solomon +himself is not probable. + +It has generally been regarded as an allegorical poem; the Jews +interpreted it as setting forth the love of Jehovah for Israel; the +Christian interpreters have made it the representation of the love of +Christ for his Church. These are the two principal theories, but it +might be instructive to let Archdeacon Farrar recite to us a short list +of the explanations which have been given of the book in the course of +the ages:-- + +"It represents, say the commentators, the love of God for the +congregation of Israel; it relates the history of the Jews from the +Exodus to the Messiah; it is a consolation to afflicted Israel; it is an +occult history; it represents the union of the divine soul with the +earthly body, or of the material with the active intellect; it is the +conversation of Solomon and Wisdom; it describes the love of Christ to +his Church; it is historico-prophetic; it is Solomon's thanksgiving for +a happy reign; it is a love-song unworthy of any place in the canon; it +treats of man's reconciliation to God; it is a prophecy of the Church +from the Crucifixion till after the Reformation; it is an anticipation +of the Apocalypse; it is the seven days' epithalamium on the marriage of +Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh; it is a magazine for direction and +consolation under every condition; it treats in hieroglyphics of the +sepulchre of the Saviour, his death, and the Old Testament saints; it +refers to Hezekiah and the Ten Tribes; it is written in glorification of +the Virgin Mary. Such were the impossible and diverging interpretations +of what many regarded as the very Word of God. A few only, till the +beginning of this century, saw the truth,--which is so obvious to all +who go to the Bible with the humble desire to know what it says, and not +to interpret it into their own baseless fancies,--that it is the +exquisite celebration of a pure love in humble life; of a love which no +splendor can dazzle and no flattery seduce." + +These last sentences of Canon Farrar give the probable clew to the +interpretation of the book. It is a dramatic poem, celebrating the story +of a beautiful peasant girl, a native of the northern village of Shunem, +who was carried away by Solomon's officers and confined in his harem at +Jerusalem. But in the midst of all this splendor her heart is true to +the peasant lover whom she has left behind, nor can any blandishments of +the king disturb her constancy; her honor remains unstained, and she is +carried home at length, heart-whole and happy, by the swain who has come +to Jerusalem for her rescue. This is the beautiful story. The phrases in +which it is told are, indeed, too explicit for Occidental ears; the +color and the heat of the tropics is in the poetry, but it is perfectly +pure; it celebrates the triumph of maiden modesty and innocence. "The +song breathes at the same time," says Ewald, "such deep modesty and +chaste innocence of heart, such determined defiance of the over- +refinement and degeneracy of the court-life, such stinging scorn of the +growing corruption of life in great cities and palaces, that no clearer +or stronger testimony can be found of the healthy vigor which, in this +century, still characterized the nation at large, than the combination +of art and simplicity in the Canticles." [Footnote: _History of +Israel_, iv. 43.] + +The Book of Job has been the subject of a great amount of critical +study. The earliest Jewish tradition is that it was written by Moses; +this tradition is preserved in the Talmud, which afterward states that +it was composed by an Israelite who returned to Palestine from the +Babylonian Captivity. It is almost certain that the first of these +traditions is baseless. The theory that it was written after the +Captivity is held by many scholars, but it is beset with serious +difficulties. + +The book contains no allusion whatever to the Levitical law, nor to any +of the religious rites and ceremonies of the Jews. The inference has +therefore been drawn that it must have been written before the giving of +the law, probably in the period between Abraham and Moses. It seems +inconceivable that a devout Hebrew should have treated all the great +questions discussed in this book without any reference to the religious +institutions of his own people. It is equally difficult to understand +how the divine interposition for the punishment of the wicked and the +rewarding of the righteous could have been so fully considered without a +glance at the lessons of the Exodus, if the Exodus had taken place +before the book was written. But these arguments for an early origin are +quite neutralized by the doctrine of the book. The view of divine +providence set forth in it is very unlike that contained in the +Pentateuch. It is not necessary to say that there is any contradiction +between these two views; but the subject is approached from a very +different direction, and the whole tone of the book indicates a state of +religious thought quite different from that which existed among the +Hebrews before the Exodus. "If we are to believe that Moses wrote it," +says a late critic, "then we must believe that he held these views as an +esoteric philosophy, and omitted from the religion which he gave to his +people the truths which had been revealed to him in the desert. The book +itself must have been suppressed until long after his day. The ignorant +Israelites could not have been trained under the discipline of the Law +if they had had at the same time the fiery, cynical, half-skeptical, and +enigmatical commentary which the Book of Job furnishes. There is nothing +abnormal or contrary to the conception of an inspired revelation in the +development of truth by wider views and deeper analysis through +successive sacred writers. But it is repulsive to conceive an inspired +teacher as first gaining the wider view, and then deliberately hiding +it, to utter the truth in cruder and more partial forms." [Footnote: +Raymond's _The Book of Job_, p. 18.] The fact that neither the +person nor the Book of Job is mentioned in the historical books of the +Jews, and that the first reference to him is in the Book of Ezekiel, +would indicate that the date of the book must have been much later than +the time of Moses. This argument could not be pressed, however, for we +have noted already the silence of the earlier historical books +concerning the Mosaic law. + +The dilemma of the critics may be summed up as follows:-- + +1. The absence of allusion to the history of the Exodus and to the +Mosaic system shows that it must have been written before the Exodus. 2. +The absence of all reference to the book in the Hebrew history, and more +especially the doctrinal character of the book, shows that it could not +have been written before the age of Solomon. The latter conclusion is +held much more firmly than the former; and the silence respecting the +history and the Law is explained on the theory that the book is a +historical drama, the scene of which is laid in the period before Moses, +and the historic unities of which have been perfectly observed by the +writer. _The people of this drama_ lived before the Exodus and the +giving of the Law, and their conversations do not, therefore, refer to +any of the events which have happened since. The locality of the drama +is the "Land of Uz," and the geographers agree that the descriptions of +the book apply to the region known in the classical geographies as +"Arabia Deserta," southeast of Palestine. It is admitted that the +scenery and costume of the book are not Jewish; and they agree more +perfectly with what is known of that country than with any other. That +Job was a real personage, and that the drama is founded upon historical +tradition cannot be doubted. It is probable that it was written after +the time of Josiah. + +I need not rehearse the story. Job is overtaken by great losses and +sufferings; in the midst of his calamities three friends draw near to +condole with him, and also to administer to him a little wholesome +reproof and admonition. Their theory is that suffering such as he is +enduring is a sign of the divine displeasure; that Job must have been a +great sinner, or he could not be such a sufferer. This argument Job +indignantly repels. He does not claim to be perfect, but he knows that +he has been an upright man, and he knows that bad men round about him +are prospering, while he is scourged and overwhelmed with trouble; he +sees this happening all over the earth,--the good afflicted, the evil +exalted; and he knows, therefore, that the doctrine of his miserable +comforters cannot be true. Sin does bring suffering, that he admits; but +that all suffering is the result of sin he denies. He cannot understand +it; his heart is bitter when he reflects upon it; and the insistence of +his visitors awakes in him a fierce indignation, and leads him to charge +God with injustice and cruelty. They are shocked and scandalized at his +almost blasphemous outcries against God; but he maintains his +righteousness, and drives his critics and censors from the field. +Finally Jehovah himself is represented as answering Job out of the +whirlwind, in one of the most sublime passages in all literature,-- +silencing the arguments of his friends, sweeping away all the reasonings +which have preceded, explaining nothing, but only affirming his own +infinite power and wisdom. Before this august manifestation Job bows +with submission; the mystery of evil is not explained; he is only +convinced that it cannot be explained, and is content to be silent and +wait. The teaching of the book is well summarized in these words of Dr. +Raymond:-- + +"The current notion that calamity is always the punishment of crime and +prosperity always the reward of piety is not true. Neither is it true +that the distress of a righteous man is an indication of God's anger. +There are other purposes in the Divine mind of which we know nothing. +For instance, a good man may be afflicted, by permission of God, and +through the agency of Satan, to prove the genuine character of his +goodness. But whether this or some other reason, involved in the +administration of the universe, underlies the dispensation of temporal +blessings and afflictions, one thing is certain: the plans of God are +not, will not be, cannot be revealed; and the resignation of faith, not +of fatalism, is the only wisdom of man." [Footnote: _The Book of +Job_, p. 49.] + +I have reserved for the last the most precious of all the Hebrew +writings, the _Book of Psalms_. The Hebrews called it "Tehillim," praise- +book or hymn-book, and the title exactly describes it; in the form in +which we have it, it was a hymn-book prepared for the service of the +later temple. + +If the question "Who wrote the Psalms?" were to be propounded in any +meeting of Sunday-school teachers, nine tenths of them would +unhesitatingly answer, "David." If the same question were put to an +assembly of modern Biblical scholars some would answer that David wrote +very few and perhaps not any of the psalms; that they were written +during the Maccabean dynasty, only one or two hundred years before +Christ. Both these views are extreme. We may believe that David did +write several of the psalms, but it is more than probable that the great +majority of them are from other writers. + +Seventy-three psalms of the book seem to be ascribed to David in their +titles. "A Psalm of David," "Maschil of David," "Michtam of David," or +something similar is written over seventy-three different psalms. +Concerning these titles there has been much discussion. It has been +maintained that they are found in the ancient Hebrew text as constituent +parts of the Psalms, and are therefore entitled to full credit. But this +theory does not seem to be held by the majority of modern scholars. "The +variations of the inscriptions," says a late conservative writer, "in +the Septuagint and the other versions sufficiently prove that they were +not regarded as fixed portions of the canon, and that they were open to +conjectural emendations." [Footnote: _Speaker's Commentary_, iv. +151.] Dr. Moll, the learned author of the monograph on the Psalms in +Lange's "Commentary," says in his introduction: "The assumption that all +the inscriptions originated with the authors of the Psalms, and are +therefore inseparable from the text, cannot be consistently maintained. +It can at most be held only of a few.... There is now a disposition to +admit that some of them may have originated with the authors +themselves." + +The probability is that most of these inscriptions were added by editors +and transcribers of the Psalms. You open your hymn-book, and find over +one hymn the name of Watts, and over another the name of Wesley, and +over another the name of Montgomery. Who inserted these names? Not the +authors, of course, but the editor or compiler of the collection. +Compilers in these days are careful and accurate, but they do make +mistakes, and you find the same hymn ascribed to different authors in +different books, while hymns that are anonymous in one book are credited +in another, rightly or wrongly, to the name of some author. The men who +collected the hymn-book of the Jews made similar mistakes, and the old +copies do not agree in all their titles. + +But while the inscriptions over the psalms do not, generally, belong to +the psalms themselves, and are not in all cases accurate, most of them +were, no doubt, suffixed to the psalms at a very early day. "On the +whole," says Dr. Moll, "an opinion favorable to the antiquity and value +of these superscriptions has again been wrought out, which ascribes them +for the most part to tradition, and indeed a very ancient one." + +Even if the titles were rightly translated, then, they would not give us +conclusive proof of the authorship of the Psalms. But some of the best +scholars assert that they are not rightly translated. The late Professor +Murray of Johns Hopkins University, whose little book on the Psalms is +vouched for as one of the most admirable productions of Biblical +scholarship which has yet appeared in this country, says that "whenever +we have an inscription in our version stating that the psalm is 'of +David' it is almost invariably a mistranslation of the original." It +should be written "to David," and it signifies that the compilers +ascribed the psalm to a more ancient collection to which the name of +David had been appended, not because he wrote all the poems in it, but +because he originated the collection and wrote many of its songs. This +older collection was called "The Psalms of David" something as a popular +hymn-book of these times is called Robinson's "Laudes Domini," because +Dr. Robinson compiled the book, and wrote some of the hymns. This old +Davidic collection is not in existence, but many of the psalms in our +book were taken from it, and the titles in our version are attempts to +credit to this old book such of them as were thus borrowed. + +This method of crediting is not altogether unknown in this critical age. +In the various eclectic commentaries on the Sunday-school lessons I +often find sentences and paragraphs credited to "William Smith" which +were taken from Dr. Smith's "Bible Dictionary," the articles from which +they are taken being signed in all cases by the initials of the men who +wrote them. I find, also, quotations from the "Speaker's Commentary," of +which Canon Cook is the editor, ascribed to "F. C. Cook," or to "Cook," +though the table of contents in the volume from which the quotation was +taken bears in capital letters the name of the writer of the commentary +on this particular book. In like manner "Lange" gets the credit of all +that is written in his famous "Bibelwerk," though he wrote very little +of it himself. The power to distinguish between editorship and +authorship was not, probably, possessed by ancient compilers in any +greater degree than by modern ones; and the inscriptions over the psalms +must be estimated with this fact in view. + +I have spoken of the present collection of the Psalms as one book, but +it is in reality five books. It is so divided in the Revised Version. +The concluding verse of the Forty-first Psalm is as follows: "Blessed be +the Lord God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen." +This doxology marks the close of the first hymn-book prepared by the +Jews for the worship of the second temple. It was probably formed soon +after the first return from the Exile. All the Psalms except the first, +the tenth, and the thirty-third are credited to the old Davidic Psalm +Book. The title of the thirty-third has probably been omitted by some +copyist; the ninth and tenth in some old Hebrew copies are written as +one psalm, and there is an acrostical arrangement which shows that they +really belong together. The psalm may have been divided for liturgical +purposes, or by accident in copying. The title of the ninth, therefore, +covers the tenth. The first and second are, then, the only psalms that +are not ascribed to the old book of which this book was simply an +abridgment. + +At the end of the Seventy-second Psalm is the doxology which marks the +close of the second of these hymn-books. After a while the psalms of the +first book grew stale and familiar, and a new book was wanted. "Gospel +Hymns No. 1," of the Moody and Sankey psalmody, had to be followed after +a year or two by "Gospel Hymns No. 2," and then by "No. 3" and "No. 4" +and "No. 5," and finally they were all bound up together. I may be +pardoned for associating things sacred with things not very sacred, and +poetry with something that is not always poetry, but the illustration, +familiar to all, shows exactly how these five hymn-books of the Jews +first came to be, and how they were at length combined in one. + +The last verse of the Seventy-second Psalm has puzzled many readers: +"The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." After this you find +in our collection several psalms ascribed to David, some of which he +undoubtedly wrote. The probable explanation is that the Seventy-second +Psalm was the last psalm of the old Davidic hymn-book; the compiler made +it the last one of this second book, and carelessly copied into this +psalm the inscription with which the old book ended. + +The second of these hymn-books begins, therefore, with Psalm xlii., and +ends with Psalm lxxii., a collection of thirty-one songs of praise. + +Number three of the temple-service contains eighteen psalms, and ends +with Psalm lxxxix; this book, as well as the one that precedes it, is +ascribed by a probable tradition to Nehemiah as its compiler. + +The last verse of Psalm cvi. indicates the close of the fourth book. It +contains but seventeen psalms, and is the shortest book of the five. The +fifth book includes the remaining forty-four psalms, among them the +"Songs of David," or Pilgrim Songs, sung by the people on their journeys +to Jerusalem to keep the solemn feasts. It is probable that this fifth +book was compiled by the authorities in charge of the temple worship, +and that they at the same time collected the other four books and put +them all together, completing in this way the greater book of sacred +lyrics which has been so precious to many generations not only of Jews, +but also of Christians. + +Various unsuccessful attempts have been made to classify these books +according to their subject-matter. It is plain that the first two are +composed chiefly of the oldest psalms and of those adapted to the +general purposes of worship; the third book reflects the grief of the +nation in the Captivity; the fourth, the joy of the returning exiles; +the fifth contains a more miscellaneous collection. The Jewish scholars +recognize and sometimes attempt to explain this arrangement of the +Psalms into five books. The Hebrew Midrash on Psalm i. I., says: "Moses +gave the five books of the law to the Israelites, and as a counterpart +of them, David gave the Psalms consisting of five books." This is, of +course, erroneous; the present collection of Psalms was made long after +the time of David; but it is not unlikely that some notion of a +symmetrical arrangement of the Psalms, to correspond to the five-fold +division of the Law, influenced the compilers of this Praise Book. + +Of the contents of this book, of the peculiar structure of Hebrew +poetry, and of the historic references in many of the psalms, much might +be said, but this investigation would lead us somewhat aside from our +present purpose. + +It may, however, be well to add a word or two respecting some of the +inscriptions and notations borne by the Psalms in our translation. Many +of them are composed of Hebrew words, transliterated into English,-- +spelled out with English letters. King James' translators did not know +what they meant, so they reproduced them in this way. There has been +much discussion as to the meaning of several of them, and the scholars +are by no means agreed; the interpretations which follow are mainly +those given by Professor Murray:-- + +First is the famous "Selah," which we used to hear pronounced with great +solemnity when the Psalms were read. It is a musical term, meaning, +perhaps, something like our "Da Capo" or, possibly, "Forte"--a mark of +expression like those Italian words which you find over the staff on +your sheet music. + +"Michtam" and "Maschil" are also musical notes, indicating the time of +the melody,--metronome-marks, so to speak; and "Gittith" and "Shiggaion" +are marks that indicate the kind of melody to which the psalm is to be +sung. + +"Negiloth" means stringed instruments; it indicates the kind of +accompaniment with which the psalm was to be sung. "Nehiloth" signifies +pipes or flutes, perhaps wind instruments in general. + +The inscription "To the Chief Musician" means, probably, "For the Leader +of the Choir," and indicates that the original copy of the psalm thus +inserted in the book was one that had belonged to the chorister in the +old temple. "Upon Shemimith" means "set for bass voices;" "Upon +Alamoth," "set for female voices." "Upon Muthlabben," a curious +transliteration, means "arranged for training the soprano voices." +Professor Murray supposes that this particular psalm was used for +rehearsal by the women singers. + +Some of these inscriptions designate the airs to which the psalms were +set, part of which seem to be sacred, and part secular. Such is "Shushan +Eduth," over Psalm lx., meaning "Fair as lilies is thy law," apparently +the name of a popular religious air. Another, probably secular, is over +Psalm xxii., "Aijeleth Shahar," "The stag at dawn," and another, over +Psalm 1vi., "Jonathelem Rechokim," which is, being interpreted, "O +silent dove, what bringest thou us from out the distance?" + +These inscriptions and many other features of this ancient Hebrew poetry +have furnished puzzles for the unlearned and problems for the scholars, +but the meaning of the psalms themselves is for the most part clear +enough. The humble disciple pauses with some bewilderment over +"Neginoth" or "Michtam;" he classes them perhaps among the mysteries +which the angels desire to look into; but when he reads a little farther +on, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want;" or "God is our refuge +and strength, a very present help in trouble;" or "Create in me a clean +heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me," he knows full well +what these words mean. There is no life so lofty that these psalms do +not lift up a standard before it; there is no life so lowly that it does +not find in them words that utter its deepest humility and its faintest +trust. Wherever we are these psalms find us; they search the deep things +of our hearts; they bring to us the great things of God. Of how many +heroic characters have these old temple songs been the inspiration! +Jewish saints and patriots chanted them in the synagogue and on the +battle-field; apostles and evangelists sung them among perils of the +wilderness, as they traversed the rugged paths of Syria and Galatia and +Macedonia; martyrs in Rome softly hummed them when the lions near at +hand were crouching for their prey: in German forests, in Highland +glens, Lutherans and Covenanters breathed their lives out through their +cadences; in every land penitent souls have found in them words to tell +the story of their sorrow, and victorious souls the voices of their +triumph; mothers watching their babes by night have cheered the vigil by +singing them; mourners walking in lonely ways have been lighted by the +great hopes that shine through them, and pilgrims going down into the +valley of the shadow of death have found in their firm assurances a +strong staff to lean upon. Lyrics like these, into which so much of the +divine truth was breathed when they were written, and which a hundred +generations of the children of men have saturated with tears and +praises, with battle shouts and sobs of pain, with all the highest and +deepest experiences of the human soul, will live as long as joy lives +and long after sorrow ceases; will live beyond this life, and be sung by +pure voices in that land from which the silent dove, coming from afar, +brings us now and then upon her shining wings some glimpses of a glory +that eye hath never seen. + +NOTE. The reference on pages 200 and 201 to the Gospel Hymns is not +strictly accurate. "Number Five" has not been bound up with the other +numbers. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE EARLIER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS. + + + +The books of the New Testament are now before us. Our task is not +without its difficulties; questions will confront us which have never +yet been answered, and probably will never be; nevertheless, compared +with the Old Testament writings, the books of the New Testament are +well-known documents; we are on firm ground of history when we talk +about them; of but few of the famous books of Greek and Latin authors +can we speak so confidently as to their date and their authorship as we +can concerning most of them. + +We have in the New Testament a collection of twenty-seven books, by nine +different authors. Of these books thirteen are ascribed to the Apostle +Paul; five to John the son of Zebedee; two to Peter; two to Luke; one +each to Matthew, Mark, James, and Jude, and the authorship of one is +unknown. + +Of these books it must be first remarked that they were not only written +separately but that there is no trace in any of them of the +consciousness on the part of the author that he was contributing to a +collection of sacred writings. Of the various epistles it is especially +evident that they were written on special occasions, with a certain +audience immediately in view; the thought that they were to be preserved +and gathered into a book, which was to be handed down through the coming +centuries as an inspired volume, does not appear to have entered the +mind of the writer. But this fact need not detract from their value; +often the highest truth to which a man gives utterance is truth of whose +value he is imperfectly aware. + +It must also be remembered that these books of the New Testament were +nearly all written by apostles. The only clear exceptions are the Gospel +of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistle +to the Hebrews; and the authors of these books, though not apostles, +were undoubtedly in the closest relations with apostolic men, and +reflected their thought. These apostolic men had received a special +training and a definite commission to bear witness of their Master, to +tell the story of his life and death, and to build up his kingdom in the +world. + +We must admit that they possessed unusual qualifications for this work. +Those who had been for three years in constant and loving intercourse +with Jesus Christ ought to have been inspired men. And he promised them, +before he parted from them, that the Spirit of truth should come to them +and abide with them to lead them into all truth. + +Now although we may find it difficult to give a satisfactory definition +of inspiration; though we may be utterly unable to express, in any +formularies of our own, the influence of the Infinite Spirit upon human +minds, yet we can easily believe that these apostolic men were +exceptionally qualified to teach religious truth. No prophet of the +olden time had any such preparation for his mission as that which was +vouchsafed to them. No school of the prophets, from the days of Samuel +downward, could be compared to that sacred college of apostles,--that +group of divine peripatetics, who followed their master through Galilee +and Perea, and sat down with him day by day, for three memorable years, +on the mountain top and by the lake side, to listen to the words of life +from the lips of One who spake as never man spake. + +To say that this training made them infallible is to speak beyond the +record. There is no promise of infallibility, and the history makes it +plain enough that no such gift was bestowed. The Spirit of all truth was +promised; but it was promised for their guidance in all their work, in +their preaching, their administration, their daily conduct of life. +There is no hint anywhere that any special illumination or protection +would be given to them when they took the pen into their hands to write; +they were then inspired just as much as they were when they stood up to +speak, or sat down to plan their missionary campaigns,--just as much and +no more. + +Now it is certain that the inspiration vouchsafed them did not make them +infallible in their ordinary teaching, or in their administration of the +church. They made mistakes of a very serious nature. It is beyond +question that the majority of the apostles took at the beginning an +erroneous view of the relation of the Gentiles to the Christian church. +They insisted that Gentiles must first become Jews before they could +become Christians; that the only way into the Christian church was +through the synagogue and the temple. It was a grievous and radical +error; it struck at the foundations of Christian faith. And this error +was entertained by these inspired apostles after the day of Pentecost; +it influenced their teaching; it led them to proclaim a defective +gospel. This is not the assertion of a skeptic, it is the clear +testimony of the Apostle Paul. If you will read the second chapter of +his Epistle to the Galatians you will learn from the mouth of an +unimpeachable witness that the very leaders of the apostolic band, Peter +and James and John, were greatly in error with respect to a most +important subject of the Christian teaching. In his account of that +famous council at Antioch, Paul says that Peter and James and John were +wholly in the wrong, and that Peter, for his part, had been acting +disingenuously:-- + +"But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he +stood condemned. For before that certain came from James, he did eat +with the Gentiles: but when they came, he drew back and separated +himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the +Jews [the Jewish Christians] dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that +even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw +that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I +said unto Cephas before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the +Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to +live as do the Jews?" + +Now it is evident that one or the other of these opposing parties in the +apostolic college must have been in error, if not greatly at fault, with +respect to this most vital question of Christian faith and doctrine. +When one apostle resists another to the face because he stands +condemned, and tells him that he walks not uprightly, according to the +truth of the gospel, it must be that one or the other of them has, for +the time being, ceased to be infallible in his administration of the +truth of the gospel. And if these apostolic men, sitting in their +councils, teaching in their congregations, can make such mistakes as +these, how can we be sure that they never make a mistake when they sit +down to write, that then their words are always the very word of God? We +can have no such assurance. Indeed we are expressly told that their +words are not, in some cases, the very word of God; for the Apostle Paul +plainly tells us over and over, in his epistles to the Corinthians (1 +Cor. vii.; 2 Cor. xi.), that upon certain questions he is giving his own +opinion,--that he has no commandment of the Lord. With respect to one +matter he says that he is speaking after his own judgment, but that he +"thinks" he has the Spirit of the Lord; two or three times he distinctly +declares that it is he, Paul, and not the Lord, that is speaking. + +All of these facts, and others of the same nature clearly brought before +us by the New Testament itself, must be held firmly in our minds when we +make up our theory of what these writings are. That these books were +written by inspired men is, indeed, indubitable; that these men +possessed a degree of inspiration far exceeding that vouchsafed to any +other religious teachers who have lived on the earth is to my mind +plain; that this degree of inspiration enabled them to bear witness +clearly to the great facts of the gospel of Christ, and to present to us +with sufficient fullness and with substantial verity the doctrines of +the kingdom of heaven I am very sure; but that they were absolutely +protected against error, not one word in the record affirms, and they +themselves have taken the utmost pains to disabuse our minds of any such +impression. That is a theory about them which men made up out of their +own heads hundreds of years after they were dead. We shall certainly +find that they were not infallible; but we shall also find that, in all +the great matters which pertain to Christian faith and practice, when +their final testimony is collected and digested, it is clear, +harmonious, consistent, convincing; that they have been guided by the +Spirit of the Lord to tell us the truth which we need to know respecting +the life that now is and that which is to come. + +Furthermore, it is a matter of rejoicing when we take up these books of +the New Testament to find their substantial integrity unimpeached. There +is no reason to suspect that any important changes have been made in any +of these books since they came from the hands of their writers. Whatever +may be said about the first three Gospels (and we shall come to that +question in our next chapter), the remaining books of the New Testament +have come down to us, unaltered, from the men who first wrote them. +There is none of that process of redaction, and accretion, and +reconstruction whose traces we have found in many of the Old Testament +books. There may be, here and there, a word or two or a verse or two +which has been interpolated by some officious copyist, but these +alterations are very slight. The books in our hands are the very same +books which were in the hands of the contemporaries and successors of +the apostles. + +I shall not attempt any elaborate discussion of these twenty-seven +books. I only propose to go rapidly over them, indicating, with the +utmost brevity, the salient facts, so far as we know them, respecting +their authorship, the date and the place at which they were written, and +the circumstances which attended the production of them. + +From the fact that the Gospels stand first in the New Testament +collection it is generally assumed that they are the earliest of the New +Testament books, but this is an error. Several of the Epistles were +certainly written before any of the Gospels; and one of the Gospels, +that of John, was written later than any of the Epistles, except the +three brief ones by the same author. + +The first of these New Testament books that saw the light was, as is +generally supposed, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. It was in +the year 48 of our era that St. Paul set out on his first missionary +journey from Antioch through Cyprus and Eastern Asia Minor, a journey +which occupied about a year. Two years afterward, his second journey +took him through the eastern part of Asia Minor and across the Aegean Sea +to Europe, where he preached in Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, +and Corinth. His stay in Thessalonica was interrupted, as you will +remember, by the hostility of the Jews, and he remained but a short time +in that place; long enough, however, to gather a vigorous church. +Afterward, while he was in Corinth, he learned from one of his helpers +that the people of Thessalonica had misunderstood portions of his +teaching, and were in painful doubt on certain important subjects. To +set them right on these matters he wrote his first epistle, which was +forwarded to them from Corinth, probably about the year 52. + +This explanation was also misunderstood by the Thessalonians, and it +became necessary during the next year to write to them again. These two +letters are in all probability the first of the Christian writings that +we possess. They contain instruction and counsel of which the Christians +of Thessalonica were just then in need. The question which had most +disturbed them had relation to the second coming of Christ. They +expected him to return very soon; they were impatient of delay; they +thought that those who died before his coming would miss the glorious +spectacle; and therefore they deplored the hard fate of some of their +number who had been snatched away by death before this sublime event. In +his first epistle the apostle assures them that the dead in Christ would +be raised to participate in their rejoicing. "We who are alive when the +Lord returns," he says, "will have no advantage over those who have been +called to their reward before us; for they will be raised from their +graves to take part with us in this great triumph." It is manifest that +Paul, when he wrote this, expected that Christ would return to earth +while he was alive. Alford and other conservative commentators say that +he here definitely expresses that expectation; others deny that these +words can be so interpreted, but concede that he did entertain some such +expectation. "It does not seem improper to admit," says Bishop Ellicott, +"that in their ignorance of the day of the Lord the apostles might have +imagined that he who was coming would come speedily." [Footnote: _Com. +in loc._] "It is unmistakably clear from this," says Olshausen, "that +Paul deemed it possible that he and his contemporaries might live to see +the coming again of Christ." "The early church, and even the apostles +themselves," say Conybeare and Howson, "expected their Lord to come +again in that very generation. St. Paul himself shared in that +expectation, but being under the guidance of the Spirit of truth, he did +not deduce any erroneous conclusions from this mistaken premise." +[Footnote: _Life and Epistles of St. Paul_, i. 401.] It is evident, +then, that St. Paul and the rest of the apostles were mistaken on this +point; this is one of the evidences which they themselves have taken +pains to point out to us of the fact that though they were inspired men +they were not infallible. + +Paul's first letter to the Christians at Thessalonica was interpreted by +them, very naturally, as teaching that the return of the Lord was +imminent; and they began to neglect their daily duties and to behave in +the same foolish way that men have behaved in all the later ages, when +they have got their heads full of this notion. His second letter was +written chiefly to rebuke this fanaticism, and to bid them go right on +with their work making ready for the Lord's coming by a faithful +discharge of the duties of the present hour. St. Paul might have been +mistaken in his theories about the return of his Master, but his +practical wisdom was not at fault; it was his spirit that survived in +Abraham Davenport, the Connecticut legislator, who, in the "dark day" of +1780 when his colleagues thought that the end of the world had come, +refused to vote for the adjournment of the House, but insisted on +calling up the next bill; saying as Whittier has phrased it:-- + + "'This well may be + The Day of Judgment which the world awaits; + But be it so or not, I only know + My present duty, and my Lord's command + To occupy till he come. So at the post + Where he hath set me in his providence, + I choose, for one, to meet him face to face,-- + No faithless servant frightened from my task, + But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls; + And therefore, with all reverence, I would say, + Let God do his work, we will see to ours. + Bring in the candles.' And they brought them in." + +These two letters are, then, the earliest of the New Testament writings. +Like most of the other Epistles of Paul they begin with a salutation. +The common salutation with which the Greeks began their letters was +"Live well!" that of the Roman was "Health to you!" But Paul almost +always began with a Christian greeting, "Grace, mercy, and peace to +you." In these letters he associates with himself in this greeting his +two companions, Timothy and Silas. + +The last words of his epistles are almost always personal messages to +individuals known to him in the several churches,--to men and women who +had "labored with him in the gospel,"--casual yet significant words, +which "show a heart within blood-tinctured, of a veined humanity." The +letters were written by an amanuensis,--all save these concluding words +which Paul added in his own chirography. He seems to desire to put more +of himself into these personal messages than into the didactic and +doctrinal parts of his epistles. At the end of the second of the letters +to the Thessalonians we find these words: "The salutation of me Paul +with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write;" +better, perhaps, "This is my handwriting." This signature and this +concluding greeting are to be proof to them of the genuineness of the +letter. It appears from other references in the same epistle (ch. ii. 2) +that some busybody had been writing a letter to the Thessalonians, which +purported to be a message from Paul; he puts them on their guard against +these supposititious documents. At the end of the letter to the +Galatians you find in the old version: "Ye see how large a letter I have +written unto you with my own hand;" but the right rendering is in the +new version: "See with how large letters [what a bold chirography] I +have written unto you with my own hand." "These last coarse characters +are my own handwriting." It is almost universally assumed that Paul was +a sufferer from some affection of the eyes; the large letters are thus +explained. Mr. Conybeare, in a foot-note on this passage, speaks of +receiving a letter from the venerable Neander a few months before his +death, which illustrates this point in a striking manner: "His letter," +says Mr. Conybeare, "is written in the fair and flowing hand of an +amanuensis, but it ends with a few irregular lines in large and rugged +characters, written by himself and explaining the cause of his needing +the services of an amanuensis, namely the weakness of his eyes (probably +the very malady of St. Paul). It was impossible to read this autograph +without thinking of the present passage, and observing that he might +have expressed himself in the very words of St. Paul: 'Behold the size +of the characters in which I have written to you with my own hand.'" +[Footnote: _Life and Epistles of St. Paul_, ii. 149.] + +There is another touching sentence at the end of Paul's letter to the +Colossians which was written from Rome when he was prisoner there: "The +salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. Remember my bonds. Grace be +with you. Amen." This seems to say: "There is a manacle, you remember, +on my wrist. I cannot write very well. Grace be with you." I will only +add that the subscriptions which follow the epistles in the old version +are no part of the epistles, and in several cases they are erroneous. +They embody conjectures of later copyists, or traditions which are +without foundation. These letters to the Thessalonians, for example, are +said to have been written from Athens; but we know that they were +written from Corinth. For Paul expressly says (iii. 6) that the letter +was written immediately after the return of Timothy from Thessalonica, +and we are told, in Acts xviii. 5, that Silas and Timothy joined him at +Corinth after he had left Athens and had gone to Corinth. Besides, he +associates Silas and Timothy with himself in his greetings, and they +were not with him at Athens. The evidence is therefore conclusive, that +the subscription is incorrect. You will not find any of these +subscriptions in the new version. Some of them are undoubtedly correct, +but some of them are not; and in no case is the subscription an integral +part of the epistle. The excision of these traditional addenda was one +of the first results of what is called the "Higher Criticism," and +admirably illustrates the uses of this kind of criticism, which, to some +of our devout brethren, is such a frightful thing. Why should it be +regarded as a dangerous, almost a diabolical proceeding, to let the +Bible tell its own story about its origin, instead of trusting to +rabbinical traditions and mediaeval guesses and _a priori_ theories +of seventeenth century theologians? + +These two letters were, no doubt, read in the assemblies of the +Thessalonian Christians more than once, and were sacredly treasured by +them. They were the only Christian documents possessed by them; and +there was, at this time, no other church so rich as they were. The +Gospels, as we have them now, were not then in the possession of any +Christian church. The story of the gospel had been repeated to them by +Paul and Silas and Timothy, and had been diligently impressed upon their +memories; but it was only an oral gospel that had been delivered to +them; the written record of Christ's life and sayings was not in their +hands. They remembered, therefore, the things which had been told them +concerning the life and death of Jesus Christ; they repeated them over +one to another, and they explained and supplemented these remembered +words by the two letters which they had received from the great apostle. + +The next year after Paul wrote these letters to the Thessalonians from +Corinth, he returned to Jerusalem and Antioch (Acts xviii. 18-23), and +the year following, probably 54, he set out on his third missionary +journey, which took him through Galatia and Phrygia in Asia Minor to +Ephesus, where his home was for two or three years. While there, perhaps +in the year 57, he wrote the first of his letters to the Christians in +Corinth. Shortly after writing it he went on to Macedonia, whence the +second of his letters to the Corinthians was written; presently he +followed his letters to Corinth, and while there, probably in 58, he +wrote his letter to the Galatians. Galatia was a province rather than a +city; there may have been several churches, which had been established +by Paul, in the province; and this may have been a circular letter, to +be handed about among them, copies of it to be made, perhaps, for the +use of each of the churches. It was in the spring of the next year, +while he was still in Corinth, that he wrote his letter to the Romans, +the longest, and from some points of view, the most important of his +epistles. He had never, at the time of this writing, been in Rome (ch. +i. 13), but he had met Roman Christians in many of the cities of the +East where he had lived and taught; and, doubtless, since all roads led +to Rome, and the metropolis of the world was constantly drawing to +itself men of every nation and province, many of Paul's converts in Asia +and Macedonia and Achaia had made their way to the Eternal City, and had +joined themselves there to the Christian community. The long list of +personal greetings with which the epistle closes shows how large was his +acquaintance in the Roman church, and, doubtless, by his correspondence, +he had become fully informed concerning the needs of these disciples. He +tells the Romans, in this letter, that he hopes to visit them by and by; +he did not, however, at that time, expect to appear among them as a +prisoner. This was the fate awaiting him. Shortly after writing this +epistle he returned from Corinth to Jerusalem, bearing a collection +which had been gathered in Europe for the poor Christians of the mother +church; at Jerusalem he was arrested; in that city and in Caesarea he +was for a long time imprisoned; finally, probably in the spring of 61, +he was sent as a prisoner to Rome, because he had appealed to the +imperial court; and here, for at least two years, he dwelt a prisoner, +in lodgings of his own, chained by day and night to a Roman soldier. +During this imprisonment, probably in 62, he wrote the letters to the +Colossians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, and Philemon. From the first +imprisonment he seems to have been released; and to have gone westward +as far as Spain, and eastward as far as Asia Minor, preaching the +gospel. During this journey he is supposed to have written the first +letter to Timothy and the letter to Titus. At length he was re-arrested, +and brought to Rome where, in the spring of 68, just before his death, +he wrote the second letter to Timothy, the last of his thirteen +epistles. + +Much of this account of the late years of Paul's life, following the +close of his first two years at Rome, where the narrative in the Acts of +the Apostles abruptly leaves him, is traditional and conjectural; I do +not give it to you as indubitable history; it furnishes the most +reasonable explanation that has been suggested of that productive +activity of his which finds its chief expression in the letters that +bear his name. + +Of these letters it is impossible to give any adequate account in this +place. Let it suffice to say that the principal theme of the two +epistles to the Thessalonians is the expected return of Christ to earth; +that those to the Corinthians are largely occupied with questions of +Christian casuistry; that those to the Galatians and the Romans are the +great doctrinal epistles unfolding the relation of Christianity to +Judaism, and discussing the philosophy of the new creed; that the +Epistle to the Philippians is a luminous exposition of Christianity as a +personal experience; that those to the Colossians and the Ephesians are +the defense of Christianity against the insidious errors of the +Gnostics, and a wonderful revelation of the immanent Christ; that the +Epistle to Philemon is a letter of personal friendship, embodying a +great principle of practical religion; and that the letters to Timothy +and Titus are the counsel of an aged apostle to younger men in the +ministry. + +"May we go farther," with Archdeacon Farrar, "and attempt, in one or two +words, a description of each separate epistle, necessarily imperfect +from the very brevity, and yet perhaps expressive of some one main +characteristic. If so we might perhaps say that the First Epistle to the +Thessalonians is the epistle of consolation in the hope of Christ's +return; and the second of the immediate hindrances to that return, and +our duties with regard to it. The First Epistle to the Corinthians is +the solution of practical problems in the light of eternal principles; +the second, an impassioned defense of the apostle's impugned authority, +his _Apologia pro vita sua_. The Epistle to the Galatians is the +epistle of freedom from the bondage of the law; that to the Romans of +justification by faith. The Epistle to the Philippians is the epistle of +Christian gratitude and of Christian joy in sorrow; that to the +Colossians the epistle of Christ the universal Lord; that to the +Ephesians, so rich and many-sided, is the epistle of the 'heavenlies,' +the epistle of grace, the epistle of ascension with the ascended Christ, +the epistle of Christ in his one and universal church; that to Philemon +the Magna Charta of Emancipation. The First Epistle to Timothy and that +to Titus are the manuals of a Christian pastor; the Second Epistle to +Timothy is the last message of a Christian ere his death." [Footnote: +_The Life and Work of St. Paul_, chap. xlvi.] + +The genuineness of several of these books has been assailed by modern +criticism. The authorship of Paul has been disputed in the cases of nine +out of the thirteen epistles. The Epistle to the Galatians, that to the +Romans, and the two to the Corinthians are undisputed; all the rest have +been spoken against. I have attended to these criticisms; but the +reasons urged for denying the Pauline authorship of these epistles seem +to me in many cases far-fetched and fanciful in the extreme. Respecting +the pastoral epistles, those to Timothy and Titus, it may be admitted +that there are some difficulties. It is not easy for us to understand +how there could have been developed in the churches at that early day so +much of an ecclesiasticism as these letters assume; and there is force +in the suggestion that the peculiar errors against which some of these +counsels are directed belong to a later day rather than to the apostolic +age. To this it may be replied that ecclesiasticism is a weed which +grows rapidly when once it has taken root, and that the germs of +Gnosticism were in the church from the earliest day. And although the +vocabulary of these epistles differs in rather a striking way, as Dr. +Harnack has pointed out, [Footnote: _Encyc. Brit._, art. "Pastoral +Epistles." ] from that of Paul's other epistles, I can easily imagine +that in familiar letters to his pupils he would drop into a different +style from that in which he wrote his more elaborate theological +treatises. One could find in the letters of Macaulay or Charles Kingsley +many words that he would not find in the history of the one or the +sermons of the other. Putting all these objections together, I do not +find in them any adequate reason for denying that these epistles were +written by St. Paul. Indeed, it seems to me incredible that the Second +Epistle of Timothy should have been written by any other hand than that +which wrote the undoubted letters to the Corinthians and the Romans. + +When we come to the other disputed epistles, those to the Thessalonians, +the Ephesians, the Philippians, and the Colossians, I confess that the +doubts of their genuineness seem to me the outcome of a willful +dogmatism. What Archdeacon Farrar says of the cavils respecting the +epistles to the Philippians applies to much of this theoretic criticism: +"The Tubingen school, in its earlier stages, attacked it with the +monotonous arguments of their credulous skepticism. With those critics, +if an epistle touches on points which make it accord with the narrative +of the Acts it was forged to suit them; if it seems to disagree with +them the discrepancy shows that it is spurious. If the diction is +Pauline it stands forth as a proved imitation; if it is un-Pauline it +could not have proceeded from the apostle." [Footnote: _Life and Work +of St. Paul_, chap, xlvi] One grows weary with this reckless and +carping skepticism, much of which springs from a theory of a permanent +schism in the early church,--a theory which was mainly evolved from the +inner consciousness of some mystical German philosopher, and which has +been utterly exploded. + +We may, then, receive as genuine the thirteen epistles ascribed to St. +Paul; and we have good reason for believing that we have them in their +integrity, substantially as he wrote them. + +The title of one of these epistles, that to the Ephesians, is, however, +undoubtedly erroneous. As Mr. Conybeare says, the least disputable fact +about the letter is that it was not addressed to the Ephesians. For it +is incredible that Paul should have described a church in whose +fellowship he had lived and labored for two years as one of whose +religious life he knew only by report (ch. i. 15); and it is strange +that he should not have a single word of greeting to any of these +Ephesian Christians. Several of the early Christian fathers testify that +the words "at Ephesus" are omitted from the first verse of the +manuscript known to them. The two oldest manuscripts now in existence, +that of the Vatican and that known as the Sinaitic manuscript, both omit +these words. The destination of the epistle is not indicated. The place +filled by the words "at Ephesus" is left blank. Thus it reads: "Paul, an +apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints which are + and the faithful in Christ Jesus." Some of the old fathers +expatiate on this title, drawing distinctions between the saints which +_are_ and the saints which _seem to be_,--an amusing example of +exegetical thoroughness. Undoubtedly the letter was designed as a +circular letter to several churches in Western Asia,--Laodicea among the +number; and a blank was left in each copy made, in which the name of the +church to which it was delivered might be entered. Some knowing copyist +at a later day wrote the words "at Ephesus" into one of these copies; +and it is from this that the manuscript descended from which our +translation was made. + +That these letters of Paul were highly prized and carefully preserved by +the churches to which they were written we cannot doubt; and as from +time to time messengers passed back and forth between the churches, +copies were made of the letters for exchange. The church at Thessalonica +would send a copy of its letter to the church at Philippi and to the +church at Corinth and to the church at Ephesus, and would receive in +return copies of their letters; and thus the writings of Paul early +obtained a considerable distribution. We have an illustration of these +exchanges in the closing words of the Epistle to the Colossians (iv. +16): "And when this epistle hath been read among you, cause that it be +read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that you also read the +epistle from Laodicea." It is probable that the last-named epistle was +the one of which we have just been speaking, called in our version, the +Epistle to the Ephesians. + +The Epistle to the Hebrews is ascribed in its title to "Paul the +Apostle." But the title was added at a late date; the Greek Testaments +contain only the brief title "To the Hebrews," leaving the question of +authorship unsettled. Of all the other epistles ascribed to Paul his +name is the first word; this epistle does not announce its author. In +the early church there was much controversy about it; the Eastern +Christians generally ascribed it to Paul, while the Western church, +until the fourth century, refused to recognize his authorship. One +sentence in the epistle (ch. ii. 3) is supposed to signify that the +writer was of the number of those who had received the gospel at second +hand, and this was an admission that Paul always refused to make; he +steadily contended that his knowledge of the gospel was as direct and +immediate and copious as that of any of the apostles. For these and +other reasons it has been contended that the letter was written by some +one not an apostle, but an associate and pupil of apostolic men; the +most plausible conjecture ascribes it to Apollos. The date of it is not +easily fixed; it was probably written before the destruction of +Jerusalem; such an elaborate discussion of the Jewish ritual would +scarcely have been made after the temple was destroyed, without any +reference to the fact of its destruction. + +Following the letter to the Hebrews in our New Testament are seven +epistles ascribed to four different authors, James, Peter, John, and +Jude. These are commonly called the "Catholic Epistles,"--catholic +meaning general or universal,--since they are not addressed to any one +congregation, but to the whole church, to Christians in general. Two of +them, however, the Second and Third of John, hardly deserve the +designation, for they are addressed to individuals. + +The author of the Epistle of James is not easily identified. There are +numerous Jameses in the New Testament history; we do not readily +distinguish them. It was not James the son of Zebedee, for he was put to +death by Herod only six or seven years after the death of our Lord (Acts +xii. 2). Probably this was the one named James the Lord's brother, who +was a near relative of Jesus, brother or cousin, and who was the leading +man--perhaps they called him bishop--of the church at Jerusalem. He may, +also, be identical with that James the son of Alpheus, who was one of +the apostles. The letter was issued at an early day, probably before the +year 60. It was addressed to the "twelve tribes which are of the +Dispersion,"--that was the name by which the Jews scattered through Asia +and Europe were generally known. To Christians who had been Jews, +therefore, this letter was written; in this respect it is to be classed +with the letter to the Hebrews; but in the tenor of its teaching it is +wholly unlike that letter; instead of putting emphasis on the ritual and +symbolical elements of religion, it leaves these wholly on one side, and +makes the ethical contents of the Christian teaching the matter of +supreme concern. There is more of applied Christianity in this than in +any other of the epistles; and both in style and in substance we are +reminded by it of the teaching of our Lord more strongly than by any +other portion of the New Testament. + +The First Epistle of Peter is addressed to the same class of persons,-- +to "the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion" in various provinces +of Asia Minor. The only intimation of tha locality of the writing is +contained in one of the concluding verses: "She that is in Babylon, +elect together with you, saluteth you." What Babylon is this? Is it the +famous capital of the Euphrates? So some have supposed, for there is a +tradition that Peter journeyed to the distant East and founded Christian +churches among the Jews, who, in large numbers, were dwelling there. +Others take it to be the mystical Babylon,--Rome upon her seven hills. +This theory helps to support the contention, for which there is small +evidence, that Peter was the first bishop of Rome. The first conjecture +has a firmer basis. But who is "she" that sends her salutations to these +Asian saints? Was it the church or the wife of the apostle? Either +interpretation is difficult; I cannot choose between them. Of the origin +of this letter we know little; but there is nothing in it inconsistent +with the unbroken tradition which ascribes it to the impetuous leader of +the apostolic band. Like the Epistle of James it is full of a strenuous +morality; while it does not disregard the essentials of Christian +doctrine it puts the emphasis on Christian conduct. + +The Second Epistle of Peter is the one book of the New Testament +concerning whose genuineness there is most doubt. From the earliest days +the canonicity of this book has been disputed. It is not mentioned by +any early Christian writer before the third century; and Origen, who is +the first to allude to the book, testifies that its genuineness has been +doubted. The early versions do not contain it; Eusebius marks it +doubtful; Erasmus and Calvin, in later times, regarded it as a dubious +document. It seems almost incredible, with such witnesses against it, +that the book should be genuine; but if it is not the work of St. Peter +it is a fraudulent writing, for it openly announces him as its author +and refers to his first epistle. There is a remarkable similarity +between this letter and the short Epistle of Jude; it would appear that +this must be an imitation and enlargement of that, or that a +condensation of this. There are some passages in this book with which we +could ill afford to part,--with which, indeed, we never shall part; for +whether they were written by Peter or by another they express clear and +indubitable verities; and even though the author, like that Balaam whom +he quotes, may have been no true prophet, he was constrained, even as +Balaam was, to utter some wholesome and stimulating truth. + +The three epistles of John are the last words of the disciple that Jesus +loved. The evidence of their genuineness, particularly of the first of +them, is abundant and convincing; Polycarp, who was John's pupil and +friend, quotes from this book, and there is an unbroken chain of +testimony from the early fathers respecting it. Of course those who have +determined, for dogmatic reasons, to reject the Fourth Gospel, are bound +to reject these epistles also; but that procedure is wholly unwarranted, +as we shall see in the next chapter. These epistles were probably +written from Ephesus during the last years of the first century. The +first is a meditation on the great fact of the incarnation and its +mystic relation to the life of men; it sounds the very depths of that +wonderful revelation which was made to the world in the person and work +of Jesus Christ. The other two are personal letters, wherein the +fragrance of a gracious friendship still lingers, and in which we see +how the spirit of Christ was beginning, even then, to transfigure with +its benignant gentleness the courtesies of life. + +The Book of Jude, the last of the epistles, is one of whose author we +have little knowledge. He styles himself "the brother of James," but +that, as we have seen, is a vague description. Of the close relation +between this letter and Second Peter I have spoken. It is not in the +early Syriac version; Eusebius and Origen question it, and Chrysostom +does not mention it; we may fairly doubt whether it came from the hand +of any apostolic witness. One feature of this short letter deserves +mention; the writer quotes from one of the old apocryphal books, the +Book of Enoch, treating it as Scripture. If a New Testament citation +authenticates an ancient writing, Enoch must be regarded as an inspired +book. We must either reject Jude or accept Enoch, or abandon the rule +that makes a New Testament citation the proof of Old Testament +canonicity. The abandonment of the rule is the simplest and the most +rational solution of the difficulty. + +I have now run rapidly over the history of twenty-one of the twenty- +seven books of the New Testament,--all of the Epistles of the inspired +book. The end of the first century found these books scattered through +Europe and Asia, each probably in possession of the church to which it +had been sent; those addressed to individuals probably in the hands of +their children or children's children. Some exchanges, such as I have +suggested, had taken place; and some churches might have possessed +several of these apostolic letters, but there was yet no collection of +them. Of the beginning of this collection of the New Testament writings +I shall speak in the chapter upon the canon. + +I said at the beginning that these writers probably had no thought when +they composed these letters that they were contributing to a volume that +would outlast empires, and be a manual of study and a guide of conduct +in lands to the world then unknown, and in generations farther from them +than they were from Abraham. But each of them uttered in sincerity the +word that to him seemed the word of the hour; and God who gives life to +the seed gave vitality to these true words, so that they are as full of +divine energy to-day as ever they were. It is easy to cavil at a +sentence here and there, or to pick flaws in their logic; but the +question always returns, What kind of fruit have they borne? "By their +fruits ye shall know them." One of the most precious gifts of God to men +is contained in these twenty-one brief letters. It is not in equal +measure in all of them, but there is none among them that does not +contain some portion of it. The treasure is in earthen vessels; it was +so when the apostles were alive and speaking; it is so now; it always +was and always will be so; but the treasure is there, and he who with +open mind and reverent spirit seeks for it will find it there, and will +know that the excellency of the power is of God, and not of men. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS. + + + +We have arrived in our study of the Sacred Scriptures at the threshold +of the most interesting and the most momentous topic which is presented +to the student of the Biblical literature,--the question of the origin +of the Gospels. These Gospels contain the record of the life and the +death of Jesus Christ, that marvelous Personality in whom the histories, +the prophecies, the liturgies of the Old Testament are fulfilled, and +from whom the growing light and freedom and happiness of eighteen +Christian centuries are seen to flow. Most certain it is that the +history of the most enlightened lands of earth during these Christian +centuries could not be understood without constant reference to the +power which came into the world when Jesus Christ was born. Some +tremendous social force made its appearance just then by which the whole +life of mankind has been affected ever since that day. The most powerful +institutions, the most benign influences which are at work in the world +to-day, can be followed back to that period as surely as any great river +can be followed up to the springs from which it takes its rise. If we +had not these four Gospels we should be compelled to seek for an +explanation of the chief phenomena of modern history. "We trace," says +Mr. Horton, "this astonishing influence back to that life, and if we +knew nothing at all about it, but had to construct it out of the +creative imagination, we should have to figure to ourselves facts, +sayings, and impressions which would account for what has flowed from +it. Thus, if the place where this biography comes were actually a blank, +we should be able to surmise something of what ought to be there, just +as astronomers surmised the existence of a new planet, and knew in what +quarter of the heavens to look for it by observing and registering the +influences which retarded or deflected the movements of the other +planets." [Footnote: _Inspiration and the Bible,_ p. 65.] + +That place is not a blank; it is filled with the fourfold record of the +Life from which all these mighty influences have flowed. Must not this +record prove to be the most inspiring theme open to human investigation? +Is it any wonder that more study has been expended upon this theme than +upon any other which has ever claimed the attention of men? + +What do we know of the origin of this four-fold record? Origin it must +have had like every other book, an origin in time and space. That there +are divine elements in it the most of us believe; but the form in which +we have it is a purely human form, and it would be worthless to us if it +were not in purely human form. The sentences of which it is composed +were constructed by human minds, and were written down by human hands on +parchment or papyrus leaves. When, and where, and by whom? These are the +questions now before us. + +Let us go back to the last half of the second century and see what +traces of these books we can find. + +Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, in France, who died about 200, speaks +distinctly of these four Gospels, which, he declares, are equal in +authority to the Old Testament Scriptures, and which he ascribes to the +four authors whose names they now bear. With the fanciful reasoning then +common among Christian writers, he finds a reason in the four quarters +of the globe why there should have been four Gospels and no more. + +Clement of Alexandria was living at the samq time. He also quotes +liberally in his writings from all these four books, of which he speaks +as "the four Gospels that have been handed down to us." + +Tertullian, who was born in Carthage about 160, also quotes all these +Gospels as authoritative Christian writings. + +It is clear, therefore, that in the West, the East, and the South,--in +all quarters where Christianity was then established,--the four Gospels +were recognized and read in the churches in the latter half of the +second century. Let us go back a little farther. + +Justin Martyr was born at Rome about the year 100, and was writing most +abundantly from his fortieth to his forty-fifth year. In one of the +books which he has left us, in describing the customs of the Christians, +he uses the following language: "On the day which is called Sunday there +is an assembly in the same place of all who live in cities or in country +districts, and the records of the apostles or the writings of the +prophets are read as long as we have time. Then the reader concludes, +and the president verbally instructs and exhorts us to the imitation of +these excellent things. Then we all rise up together and offer our +prayers." In another place he speaks of something commanded by "the +apostles in the records which they made, and which are called Gospels." +Justin does not say how many of these Gospels the church in his day +possessed, but we find in his writings unmistakable quotations from at +least three of them. Dr. Edwin Abbott, of London, whom Mrs. Humphry Ward +refers to as master of all the German learning on this subject, says +that it would be possible "to reconstruct from his (Justin's) quotations +a fairly connected narrative of the incarnation, birth, teaching, +crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord;" that this +narrative is all found in the three Synoptic Gospels, and that Justin +quotes no words of Christ and refers to no incidents that are not found +in these Gospels. [Footnote: _Encyc. Brit.,_ vol. x. p. 817.] + +We may fully accept Dr. Abbott's testimony so far as the quotations of +Justin from the first three Gospels are concerned; but his arguments, +which are intended to prove that there is no certain reference to the +fourth Gospel in Justin's works, appear to me inconclusive. When Justin +says: "For indeed Christ also said, 'except ye be born again, ye shall +not enter into the kingdom of heaven,' but that it is impossible for +those who were once born to enter into their mother's womb is plain to +all," he is quoting words that are found in the fourth Gospel, and not +in any of the other three. The attempt to show that he found these and +similar citations in the same sources from which the author of the +fourth Gospel derived them is not successful. + +Several indirect lines of evidence tend to confirm the belief that +Justin possessed all four of our Gospels. This, then, carries us back to +the first half of the second century. Between 100 and 150 Papias of +Hierapolis, Clement of Rome, and Polycarp of Smyrna were writing. +Papias, who wrote about 130-140 A. D., composed five books or +commentaries on what he calls "The Oracles of the Lord." He gives us +some account of the origin of at least two of these Gospels. "Mark," he +says, "was the interpreter of Peter;" "Matthew wrote his scriptures +(_logia_) in Hebrew, and each man interpreted them as best he +could." "Interpreted" here evidently means translated. Elsewhere he +repeats a tradition of "the elder," by which word he apparently means +the Apostle John, whom he may have known, in these words: "Mark, having +become Peter's interpreter, wrote down accurately all that he +remembered,--not, however, in order,--both the words and the deeds of +Christ. For he never heard the Lord, nor attached himself to him, but +later on, as I said, attached himself to Peter, who used to adapt his +lessons to the needs of the occasion, but not as though he was composing +a connected treatise of the discourses of our Lord; so that Mark +committed no error in writing down some matters just as he remembered +them. For one object was in his thoughts, to make no omissions and no +false statements in what he heard." [Footnote: Quoted by Abbott, as +above.] This is a perfect description of the Gospel of Mark as we have +it in our hands to-day. And the testimony of Papias to its authorship, +and to the spirit and purpose of the author, is significant and +memorable. Evidence of this nature would be regarded as decisive in any +other case of literary criticism. + +Polycarp, who was the friend and pupil of John the Apostle, was born +about the year 69, and suffered martyrdom about 155. In his writings we +find no express mention of the Gospels, but we do find verbally accurate +quotations from them. It is clear that he was acquainted with the books. +Polycarp was the teacher of Irenaeus of Lyons whom I first quoted, and +he was the pupil and friend of St. John and the other apostles; and +Irenaeus, who quotes all these Gospels so freely, bears this testimony +respecting Polycarp, in a letter which he wrote to Florinus. + +"I saw you, when I was yet a boy, in Lower Asia with Polycarp.... I +could even point out now the place where the blessed Polycarp sat and +spoke, and describe his going out and coming in, his manner of life, his +personal appearance, the addresses he delivered to the multitude, how he +spoke of his intercourse with John, and with the others who had seen the +Lord, and how he recalled their words, and everything that he had heard +about the Lord, about his miracles and his teaching. Polycarp told us, +as one who had received it from those who had seen the Word of Life with +their own eyes, and all this in complete harmony with the Scriptures. To +this I then listened, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to me, with +all eagerness, and wrote it not on paper, but in my heart, and still by +the grace of God I ever bring it into fresh remembrance." + +These living witnesses give us solid ground for our statement that the +Gospels--the first three of them at any rate--were in existence during +the last years of the first century. Indeed, not to prolong this search +for the origin of the books, it is now freely admitted, by many of the +most radical critics, that the first three Gospels were written before +the year 80, and that Mark must have been written before 70. + +It is interesting to contrast the course of New Testament criticism with +that engaged upon the Old Testament. In the study of the origin of the +Pentateuch the gravitation of opinion has been steadily downward, toward +a later date, so that the great majority of scholars are now certain +that the books must have been put into their present form long after the +time of Moses. In the study of the origin of the Gospels the date has +been steadily pushed upward, to the very age of the apostles. The +earlier critics, Strauss and Baur, insisted that they must have appeared +much later, far on in the second century; but the more recent and more +scientific criticism has demolished or badly discredited their theories, +and has carried the Gospels back to the last part of the first century. + +Are we entitled, then, to say that these Gospels were written by +Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? We should be cautious, no doubt, in +making such a statement. The Gospels themselves are not so explicit on +this point as we could desire. Their titles do not warrant this +assertion. It is not "The Gospel of St. Matthew" or "The Gospel of St. +Mark;" it is the "Gospel according to St. Matthew" or St. Mark. The +import of the title would be fully satisfied with the explanation that +this is the story as Matthew or Mark was wont to tell it, put into form +by some person or friend of his, in his last days, or even after his +death. But the testimony of Papias, to which I have referred, is to my +own mind good evidence that these Gospels were written by the men who +bear their names. In the case of Luke, as we shall presently see, the +evidence is much stronger. And after going over the evidence as +carefully as I am able, the theory that the four Gospels were written by +the men whose names they bear, all of whom were the contemporaries of +our Lord, and two of whom were his apostles, seems to me, on the whole, +the best supported by the whole volume of evidence. The case is not +absolutely clear; perhaps it was left somewhat obscure for the very +purpose of stimulating study. At all events, the study which has been +given to the subject has confirmed rather than weakened the belief that +the Gospels are contemporary records of the life of Christ. Mr. Norton, +a distinguished Unitarian scholar, sums up the evidence as follows: "It +consists in the indisputable fact that throughout a community of +millions of individuals, scattered over Europe, Asia, and Africa, the +Gospels were regarded with the highest reverence, as the works of those +to whom they are ascribed, at so early a period that there could be no +difficulty in determining whether they were genuine or not, and when +every intelligent Christian must have been deeply interested to +ascertain the truth.... This fact is itself a phenomenon admitting of no +explanation except that the four Gospels had all been handed down as +genuine from the apostolic age, and had everywhere accompanied our +religion as it spread throughout the world." + +When we turn from the external or historical evidence for the +genuineness of the Gospels to study their internal structure and their +relations to one another, we come upon some curious facts. These +Gospels, in the form in which we possess them, are written in the Greek +language. But the Greek language was not the vernacular of the Jews in +Palestine when our Lord was on the earth; the language which was then +spoken by them, as I have before explained, was the Aramaic. It is true +that Palestine was, to some extent, a bilingual country,--like Wales, +one writer suggests, where the English and the Welsh languages are now +freely spoken,--that Aramaic and Greek were used indifferently. I can +hardly imagine that a people as tenacious of their own institutions as +the Jews could have adopted Greek as generally as the Welsh have adopted +the English tongue. Even in Wales, if a Welshman were speaking to a +congregation of his countrymen on any important topic, he would be +likely to speak the Welsh language. And much more probable does it seem +to me that the discourses and the common conversation of Jesus must have +been spoken in the vernacular. The discourses and sayings of our Lord, +as reported for us in these Gospels, are not therefore given us in the +words that he used. We have a translation of his words from the Aramaic +into the Greek, made either by the writers of the Gospels, or by some +one in their day. We have quoted the testimony of Papias, that the +Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew (by which he +undoubtedly means Aramaic), and that each one interpreted it as best he +could; and if this be true, then that copy first made by Matthew did +contain many of our Lord's very words. But that Aramaic copy has never +been seen since that day; we have no manuscript of any New Testament +book except in the Greek language. There are a few cases in which the +writers of the Gospels have preserved for us the very words used by +Christ. Thus in the healing of the deaf man in the neighborhood of +Decapolis, of which Mark tells us (vii. 34), Jesus touched his ears, and +said unto him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." The Evangelist gives +us the Aramaic word which Jesus used, and translates it for his readers +into Greek. Likewise in the healing of the ruler's daughter (Mark v. 41) +he took her by the hand, and said unto her, "Talitha cumi, which is, +being interpreted," the Evangelist explains, "Damsel, I say unto thee, +Arise." Doubtless most readers get the impression that our Lord used +here some cabalistic words in a foreign tongue; the fact is that these +are the words of the common speech of the people; only the Evangelist +seems to have thought them especially memorable, and he has given us not +merely, as he generally does, a translation into the Greek of our Lord's +words, but the Aramaic words themselves, with their meaning appended in +a Greek phrase. The same is true of our Lord's words on the cross: "Eli, +Eli, lama sabachthani?" These are Aramaic words, the very words that +Jesus uttered. The Roman soldiers who stood near might not know what he +meant; but every Jew who distinctly heard him must have understood him, +for he was speaking in no foreign tongue, but in the language of his own +people. + +When we speak, therefore, of the Greek as the original language of the +Gospels, we do not speak with entire accuracy. The Greek does not give +us our Lord's original words. These we have not, except in the cases I +have named, and a few others less important. No man on earth knows or +ever will know what were the precise words that our Lord used in his +Sermon on the Mount, in his conversation with the woman at the well, in +his last discourses with his disciples. We have every reason to believe +that the substance of what he said is faithfully preserved for us; the +fourfold record, so marvelously accordant in its report of his +teachings, makes this perfectly clear. But his very words we have not, +and this fact itself is the most convincing dis-proof of the dogma of +verbal inspiration. If our Lord had thought it important that we should +have his very words he would have seen to it that his very words were +preserved and recorded for us, instead of that Greek translation of his +words, made by his followers, which we now possess. These evangelists +could have written Aramaic, doubtless did write Aramaic; and they would +certainly have kept our Lord's discourses and sayings in the Aramaic +original if they had been instructed to do so. The fact that they were +not instructed to do so, but were permitted to give his teachings to the +world in other words than those in which they were spoken, shows how +little there was of modern literalism in Christ's conception of the work +of revelation. + +The first three of these Gospels exhibit many striking similarities; +they appear to give, from somewhat different standpoints, a condensed +and complete synopsis of the events of our Lord's life; therefore they +are called the Synoptic Gospels. The fourth Gospel differs widely from +them in matter and form. It will be more convenient, therefore, to speak +first of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. + +The singular fact respecting these Gospels is the combination in them of +likeness and difference. A considerable portion of each one of them is +to be found, word for word, in one or both of the others; other +considerable portions of each are not found in either of the others; +some passages are nearly alike, but slightly different in two or in all +of them. Did these three authors write independently each of the other? +If so, how does it happen that their phraseology is so often identical? +Did they copy one from another? If so, why did they copy so little? Why, +for example, did each one of them omit so much that the others had +written? And why are there so many slight differences in passages that +are nearly identical? If we accepted the theory of verbal inspiration, +we might offer some sort of explanation of this phenomenon. We might say +that the Holy Ghost dictated these words, and that that is the end of +it; since no explanation can be offered of the reason why the Holy Ghost +chose one form of expression rather than another. But the Gospels +themselves contain abundant proof that the Holy Ghost did not dictate +the words employed by these writers. + +The two genealogies of our Lord, one in Matthew and the other in Luke, +are widely different. From Abraham to David they substantially agree; +from David to Christ, Matthew makes twenty-eight generations, and Luke +thirty-eight; only two of the intermediate names in the one table are +found in the other; the one list makes Jacob the father of Joseph, and +the other declares that the name of Joseph's father was Heli. All sorts +of explanations, some plausible and others preposterous, have been +offered of this difficulty; the one explanation that cannot be allowed +is that these words were dictated by Omniscience. In the story of the +healing of the blind near Jericho, Matthew and Mark expressly say that +the healing took place as Christ was departing from the city; Luke that +it was before he entered it. Matthew says that there were two blind men; +Mark and Luke that there was but one. About these details of the +transaction there is some mistake,--that is the only thing to be said +about it. The various explanations offered are weak and inadmissible. +But what difference does it make to anybody whether the healing took +place before or after Jesus entered the city, or whether there was one +man healed or two? The moral and spiritual lessons of the story are just +as distinct in the one case as in the other; and it is these moral and +spiritual values only that inspiration is intended to secure. + +Similarly, Luke (iv. 38-39) expressly tells us that the healing of +Peter's wife's mother took place before the calling of Simon and Andrew; +while Matthew and Mark tell us with equal explicitness that the calling +took place before the healing. No reconciliation is possible here; +either Luke or Matthew and Mark must have misplaced these events. + +So in Matthew xxvii. 9, certain words are said to have been spoken by +Jeremiah the prophet. These words are not in Jeremiah; they are in +Zechariah xi. 13. It is simply a slip of the Evangelist's memory. + +So in the record of the inscription on the cross when Jesus was +crucified. Each of the four Evangelists copies it for us in a different +form. The meaning is the same in all the cases, but the copy was not +exactly made by some of them, perhaps not by any of them. If the Holy +Ghost had dictated the words, they must, in a case like this, have been +exactly alike in all the Evangelists. The substance is given, but the +inexactness of the copy shows that the words could not have been +dictated by Omniscience. It is sometimes explained that this inscription +was in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and that we may have +the exact translations of the different inscriptions. This might account +for three of them, but not for four. + +From these and many other similar facts, we know that the theory of +verbal inspiration is not true; but that these Evangelists were allowed +to state each in his own language the facts known by him concerning our +Lord, and that nothing like infallible accuracy was so much as +attempted. The only inspiration that can be claimed for them is that +which brought the important facts to their remembrance, and guarded them +against serious errors of history or doctrine. + +But now the question returns, if they wrote these Gospels in their own +language and independently of one another, how happens it that they use +so often the very same words and phrases and sentences? Take, for +example, the following verses from parallel narratives in Matthew and in +Mark, concerning the calling of the first apostles:-- + +MATTHEW iv. 18-22. + +And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brethren, Simon who is +called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for +they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Come ye after me, and I will +make you fishers of men. And they straightway left the nets, and +followed him. And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, James +the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their +father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they straightway +left the boat and their father, and followed him. + +MARK i. 16-20. + +And passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the +brother of Simon casting a net in the sea: for they were fishers. And +Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become +fishers of men. And straightway they left the nets, and followed him. +And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John +his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. And straightway +he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the +hired servants, and went after him. + +There are slight verbal variations, but in general the words are the +same, and the corresponding sentences are in precisely the same order in +both narratives. Now, as Archbishop Thomson says, in Smith's "Bible +Dictionary," "The verbal and material agreement of the first three +Evangelists is such as does not occur in any other authors who have +written independently of each other." + +Besides many such passages which are substantially alike but verbally or +syntactically different, there are quite a number which are identical, +word for word, and phrase for phrase. These verbal agreements occur most +frequently, as is natural, in the reports of our Lord's discourses and +sayings; but they also occur in the descriptive and narrative portions +of the gospel. This is the fact which is so difficult to reconcile with +the theory that the books were produced by independent writers. + +Suppose three competent and truthful reporters are employed by you to +write an exact and unvarnished report of some single transaction which +has occurred, and which each of them has witnessed. Each is required to +do his work without any conference with the others. When these reports +are brought to you, if they are very faithful and accurate for +substance, you will not be surprised to find some circumstances +mentioned by each that are not mentioned by either of the others, and it +will be strange if there are not some important discrepancies. But if on +reading them, you find that the reports, taken sentence by sentence, are +almost identical,--that there is only an occasional difference in a word +or in the order of a phrase,--then you at once say, "These reporters +must have been copying from some other reporter's note-book, or else +they must have been comparing notes; they could not have written with +such verbal agreement if they had written independently." Suppose, for +example, that each of the three reports began in just these words: "The +first object that attracted my notice on entering the door was a chair." +Now it is extremely improbable that all these writers, writing +independent reports of a transaction, should begin in the same way by +mentioning the first object that attracted the attention of each. And +even if they should so begin, it is wholly beyond the range of +possibilities that they should all select from all the multitude of the +words in the English language the very same words in which to make this +statement; and should put these words in the very same order, out of the +multitude of different orders into which they could grammatically be +put. There is not one chance in a million that such a coincidence would +occur. But such coincidences occur very often in the first three +Gospels. How can we account for it? We say that they wrote +independently, that their words were not dictated to them; how does it +happen that there is so much verbal agreement? + +We may get some hint of the manner in which these biographies were +produced if we turn to the beginning of Luke's Gospel:-- + +"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning +those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered +them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers +of the word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all +things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most +excellent Theophilus; that thou mightest know the certainty concerning +the things wherein thou wast instructed." The marginal reading of this +last phrase is, "which thou wast taught by word of mouth." This is the +more exact meaning of the Greek. The passage contains these statements:-- + +1. Theophilus had been orally taught the Gospels. + +2. Many persons, not apostles, had undertaken to write out parts of the +gospel story, as they had heard it from eyewitnesses and ministers of +the word. + +3. Luke also, as one who had full and accurate information, had +determined to reduce his knowledge to an orderly written narrative, for +the benefit of his friend Theophilus. + +It appears from this clear statement that written memoranda of the +discourses of our Lord and of the incidents of his life had been made by +many persons. Numbers of these had undertaken to combine their memoranda +with their recollections in an orderly statement. This fact itself shows +how powerful an impression had been made by our Lord's life and death +upon the people of Palestine. Everything relating to him was treasured +with the utmost care; Luke, for his part, believing that he had gained +by careful investigation sufficient knowledge to warrant the +undertaking, sets out to collect the facts and present them in a +consecutive and intelligible literary form. Yet Luke, in this +announcement of his purpose, betrays no consciousness that he is using +any different powers from those employed by the many others of whom he +speaks. Rather does he most clearly rank himself with them, as one of +many gleaners in this fruitful field. He does claim thoroughness and +painstaking accuracy; I believe that every honest man will concede his +claim. + +This, then, was the way in which Luke went to work to write his Gospel. +This is not guesswork; it is the explicit statement of the author +himself. Have we not good reason for believing that the Gospels of +Matthew and Mark were composed in much the same way? + +In addition to the written memoranda of Christ's life which were in the +hands of the apostles, and of many others, there was another source from +which the Evangelists must have drawn. Luke alludes to it when he speaks +of the fact that Theophilus had received much of his narrative "by word +of mouth." There was, unquestionably, an oral gospel, covering the +larger part of the deeds and the words of Jesus, which had been widely +circulated in Palestine and in the whole missionary field. When it is +said (Acts viii. 1-4; xi. 19) that they which were scattered abroad by +the early persecutions went everywhere preaching the word, it must be +understood that they went about simply telling the story of Jesus, his +birth, his life, his deeds, his words, his death upon the cross. +Sometimes, when preaching to Jews, they would show the correspondence +between his life and the Old Testament prophecies, to prove that he was +the Messiah; but the substance of their preaching was the telling over +and over again of the story of Jesus. It was upon this oral gospel that +the apostles and the first missionaries mainly relied. What they desired +to do was to make known as speedily and as rapidly as possible the words +of his lips and the facts of his life. And it is highly probable that +before they set out on these missionary tours, they took great pains to +rehearse to one another the story which they were going forth to tell. +"The apostles," says Professor Westcott, "guided by the promised Spirit +of truth, remained together in Jerusalem in close communion for a period +long enough to shape a common narrative, and to fix it with requisite +surroundings." + +It was these concerted recollections and rehearsals that gave to so many +passages of the gospel its identity in form. Some of the sentences often +and devoutly repeated were remembered by all, word for word; in some of +them there were verbal differences and discrepancies, as they were +repeated by one and another. The verbal resemblances as well as the +verbal differences are thus explained by this theory of an oral gospel, +prepared at first for preaching by the apostles, and held only in their +memory. + +The preservation of so many passages in words and sentences nearly or +exactly similar is nothing miraculous. Even in our own time there are, +as we are told, secret societies whose ritual has never been written, +but has been handed down with nearly verbal accuracy, from generation to +generation. For the Hebrews, who were a people at this time greatly +disinclined to write, and thoroughly practiced in remembering and +repeating the sayings of their wise men, this task would not be +difficult. + +The apostles and the early evangelists, as Westcott suggests, were +preachers, not historians, not pamphleteers. They believed in living +witnesses more than in transmitted documents. They did not write out the +record at first, partly because they were naturally disinclined to +write, and partly, no doubt, because they expected the immediate return +of our Lord to earth. Their gospel was therefore for many years a spoken +and not a written word. As they went on repeating it, changes would +occur in the repetition of the words; to the remembrance of one and +another of them the Spirit of truth would bring facts and circumstances +that they did not think of at first; words, phrases, gestures of our +Lord would reappear in the memory of each, and thus the narrative became +varied and shaded with the personal peculiarities of the several +writers. + +Years passed, and the expected return of the Lord to earth did not take +place. The churches were spreading over Asia and Europe, and the +apostles were unable personally to instruct those who were preaching the +gospel in other lands. Thus the need of a written record began to make +itself felt; and the apostles themselves wrote out the story which they +had been telling, or it was written for them by their companions and +fellow-helpers in the gospel. The oral gospel as it lived in their +memories would form, no doubt, the substance of it, and the written +memoranda of the discourses and incidents, to which Luke refers, would +be drawn upon in completing the biography. The oral gospel thus +carefully prepared and transmitted by memory would be substantially the +same, yet many differences in arrangement of words and phrases would +naturally have crept in; the written memoranda would in many cases be +verbally identical. And each Evangelist, gleaning from this wide field, +would collect some facts and sayings omitted by the others. + +There are other explanations of the origin of the Synoptic Gospels, some +of which are ingenious and plausible, but I shall not burden your minds +with them, since the theory which I have presented appears to me the +simplest, the most natural, and the most comprehensive of them all. + +The Fourth Gospel, it is evident, must have had a different origin. +Beyond question it is a consecutive narrative, composed by a single +writer, and not, like the Synoptics, a compilation of memoranda, oral or +written. It appears to be, in part at least, a supplementary narrative, +omitting much that is contained in the other Gospels, supplying some +omissions, and correcting, possibly, certain unimportant errors. Mr. +Horton illustrates the supplementary work of this Evangelist by several +instances. "The communion of the Lord's Supper," he says, "was so +universally known and observed when he wrote that he actually does not +mention its institution, but he records a wonderful discourse concerning +the Bread of Life which is an indispensable commentary on the unnamed +institution, and by filling in with great detail the circumstances of +the last evening, he furnished a framework for the ordinance which is +among our most precious possessions. On the other hand, because the +common tradition was very vague in its date he gave precision to the +event which they had recorded by fixing the time of its occurrence.... +In Matt, iv. 12 and Mark i. 14, the temptation, immediately following +Christ's baptism, is immediately followed by the statement, 'When he +heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving +Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum.' But this summary narrative had +excluded one of the most interesting features of the early ministry of +Jesus. Accordingly the Fourth Gospel enlarges the story and emphasizes +the marks of time. After the Baptism, according to this authority, Jesus +'went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his +disciples, and there they abode not many days' (ii. 12). Then he went up +to the Passover at Jerusalem, where he had the interview with Nicodemus. +After that he went into the country districts of Judea, where John was +baptizing in Aenon, and then the writer adds, as if his eye were on the +condensed and misleading narrative of the common tradition, 'For John +was not yet cast into prison.' The two great teachers, the Forerunner, +and the Greater-than-he, were actually baptizing side by side, and it +was because Jesus saw his reputation overshadowing John's that he +voluntarily withdrew into Galilee, passing through Samaria. So that +while there had been two journeys to Galilee before John was imprisoned, +and that early period of the life was full of unique and wonderful +interest, all had been compressed and crushed into the brief statement +of Matt. iv. 12 and Mark i. 14. In this case we seem to see the +Evangelist deliberately loosening and breaking up the current history in +order that he might insert into the cramped and lifeless framework some +of the most valuable episodes of the Lord's life. If the fourth +Evangelist had treated the triple narrative in the way that many of us +have treated it, regarding it as a sin against the Holy Spirit to +suggest that there was any incompleteness or any misleading +abbreviations in it, we should have lost the wonderful accounts of the +conversation with Nicodemus and with the woman at the well." [Footnote: +_Inspiration and the Bible,_ pp. 95-99.] + +If such is the relation of the Fourth Gospel to the Synoptics, it +follows that it must have been the work of one who was thoroughly +familiar with the events recorded. That the narrative bears evidence of +having been written by an eyewitness is to my own mind clear. That the +writer intends to convey the impression that he is the beloved disciple +is also manifest. Either it was written by John the Apostle, or else the +writer was a deliberate deceiver. There can be no such explanation of +his personation of John as that which satisfies our minds in the case of +Daniel and Ecclesiastes; the book is either the work of John, or it is a +cunning and conscienceless fraud. And it seems to me that any one who +will read the book will find it impossible to believe that it is an +imposture. If any book of the ages bears in itself the witness to the +truth it is the Fourth Gospel. It shines by its own light. Any of us +could tell the difference between the sun in the heavens and a brass +disk suspended in the sky reflecting the sun's rays; and in much the +same way the fact is apparent that the book is not a counterfeit gospel. + +It is true that historical criticism has raised difficulties about it; +the battle of the critics has been raging around it for half a century; +but one after another of the positions taken by men like Strauss and +Baur have been shown to be untenable; and it can truthfully be said, in +the words of Professor Ladd, "that the vigorous and determined attacks +upon the genuineness of the Fourth Gospel have greatly increased instead +of impairing our confidence in the traditional view." [Footnote: _What +is the Bible?_ p. 327.] And I am ready to go farther with the same +brave but reverent scholar, and say, "Having thus grounded in historical +and critical researches the genuineness of the Fourth Gospel, we have no +hesitation in affirming what position it must take in Sacred Scripture. +It is the heart of Jesus Christ with which we here come in contact. +Inspiration and reflection uniting upon the choicest and most undoubted +material of history, and fusing all the material with the holy +characteristics of revelation, are nowhere else so apparent as in the +Gospel of the Apostle John." [Footnote: _Doctrine of Sacred +Scripture_, i. 573] + +Such, then, is the fourfold biography of Jesus the Christ preserved for +us in the New Testament. If this study has removed something of the +mystery with which the origin of these writings has been shrouded, it +has, I trust, at the same time, made them appear more real and more +human; and it has shown the providential oversight by which their +artless record, many-sided, manifold, yet simple and clear as the +daylight, has been preserved for us. Of these four Gospels we are +certainly entitled to say as much as this, that whatever verbal +discrepancies may be detected in them, and however difficult it may be +satisfactorily to explain all the phenomena of their structure and +relations, in one thing they marvelously agree, and that is in the +picture which they give us of the life and character of Jesus Christ. In +this each one of them is self-consistent, and they are all consistent +with one another. And this, if we will reflect upon it, is a marvelous, +not to say a miraculous fact. That four such men as these Evangelists +incontestably were should have succeeded in giving us four portraitures +of the Divine Man, without contradicting themselves, and without +contradicting one another,--four distinct views of this wonderful +Person, which show us different sides of his character, and which we yet +instantly recognize as the same person, is a very great wonder. No such +task was ever laid on any other human biographer as that which +confronted these men; no character so difficult to comprehend and +describe ever existed; for one man to preserve all the unities of art in +describing him would be notable; for four men to give us, independently, +four narratives, from the simple pages of which the same lineaments +shine out, so that no one ever thinks of saying that the Jesus of +Matthew is a different person from the Jesus of Mark or Luke or John,-- +this, I say, is marvelous. + +And it is this character, majestic in its simplicity, glorious in its +humility, the Ideal of Humanity, the Mystery of Godliness, that these +Gospels are meant to show us. If they only bring him clearly before us, +make his personality real and familiar and vivid before our eyes, so +that we may know him and love him, that is all we want of them. +Infallibility in details would be worthless if this were wanting; any +small discrepancies are beneath notice if this is here. And this is +here. Read for yourselves. From the page of Matthew, illuminated with +the words of prophecy that tell of the Messiah's coming; from the vivid +and rapid record of Mark, in which the Wonder-worker displays his power; +from the tender story of Luke, speaking the word of grace to those that +are lowest down and farthest off; from the mystical Gospel of the +beloved disciple opening to us the deep things that only love can see, +the same divine form appears, the same divine face shines, the same +divine voice is speaking. Behold the man! + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY AND PROPHECY. + + + +The Acts of the Apostles contains the history of the Christian church +from the time of the ascension of our Lord to the end of the second year +of Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. The period covered by the history +is therefore only about thirty years. The principal events recorded in +it are the great Pentecostal Revival, the Martyrdom of Stephen, the +first persecution of the church and the dispersion of the disciples, the +conversion and the missionary work of Paul, with the circumstances of +his arrest at Jerusalem, his journey as a prisoner to Rome, and a brief +account of his residence in that city. In the first part of the book +Peter, the leader of the apostolic band, is the central figure; the last +part is occupied with the life and work of Paul. + +Who is the writer? Irenaeus, about 182, names Luke as the author of the +book, and speaks as though the fact were undisputed. He calls him "a +follower and disciple of apostles," and declares that "he was +inseparable from Paul and was his fellow-helper in the gospel." This is +the earliest distinct reference to the book in any ancient Christian +writing. After this, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, and +Eusebius bear the same testimony. But these are late witnesses. The +earliest of them testified a hundred years after the death of Luke. The +direct testimony to the existence of this book in the first two cenuries +is not, therefore, altogether satisfactory. The indirect testimony is, +however, clear and strong. + +That the Acts was written by the author of the Third Gospel is scarcely +doubted by any critical scholar. The fact of the identity of authorship +is stated with the utmost explicitness in the introduction of the Acts. +"The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus +began both to do and to teach" (Luke i. I, 2). The author of the Acts of +the Apostles certainly intends to say that he is the writer of the Third +Gospel. If he is not the author of the Third Gospel he is an artful and +shameless deceiver. But the whole atmosphere of the book forbids the +theory that it is a cunning imposition. And the internal evidence that +the two books were written by the same author is ample and convincing. +The style and the method of the treatment of the two books are +unmistakably identical. Every page bears witness to the fact that the +author of the Third Gospel and the author of the Acts are one and the +same person. Now we know, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the Gospel +of Luke was written certainly as early as the year 80 A. D. And there is +as good reason, as we have seen already, for accepting the ancient and +universal tradition of the church that Luke was its author. If Luke +wrote the two books, the date of both of them is carried back to the +last part of the first century. But the concluding portion of the Acts +of the Apostles seems to fix the date of that book much more precisely. +The author, after narrating Paul's journey to Rome, his arrival there, +and his first unsatisfactory interview with the Jewish leaders, closes +his book with this compendious statement:-- + +"And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received +all that went in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching +all things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none +forbidding him." + +This is the last word in the New Testament history respecting the +Apostle Paul. Now it is evident that this writer was Paul's friend and +traveling companion. It is true that he keeps himself out of sight in +the history. We only know when he joined Paul by the fact that the +narrative changes from the third person singular to the first person +plural; he ceases to say "he," and begins to say "we." Thus we are made +aware that he joined Paul at Troas on his second missionary journey, and +went with him as far as Philippi; rejoined him at the same place on his +third missionary tour, and accompanied him to Jerusalem; was his fellow- +voyager on that memorable journey to Rome, and there abode with him for +two years. The Epistle to the Colossians and the Epistle to Philemon +were written during this imprisonment at Rome, and in both of these +Epistles Paul speaks of the fact that Luke is near him. In the second +letter to Timothy, which is supposed to have been written during the +second imprisonment at Rome, and near the close of his life, he says +again, "Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him unto me, for he +is useful to me for ministering." If the common opinion concerning the +date of this letter is correct, then Luke must have remained with Paul +at Rome until the close of his life. But the narrative in Luke does not +give any account of the closing years of Paul's life. It breaks off +abruptly at the end of his two years' residence in Rome. Why is this? +Evidently because there is no more to tell at this time. The writer +continues the history up to the date of his writing and stops there. If +he had been writing after the death of Paul, he would certainly have +told us of the circumstances of his death. There is no rational +explanation of this abrupt ending, except that the book was written at +about the time when the story closes. This was certainly about 63 A. D. +And if the Book of Acts was written as early as this, the Gospel of +Luke, the "former treatise" by the same author, must have been written +earlier than this. Thus the Book of Acts not only furnishes strong +evidence of its own early date, but helps to establish the early date of +the third Gospel. + +These conclusions, to my own mind, are irresistible. No theory which +consists with the common honesty of the writer can bring these books +down to a later date. And I cannot doubt the honesty of the writer. His +writings prove him to be a careful, painstaking, veracious historian. In +many slight matters this accuracy appears. The political structure of +the Roman Empire at this time was somewhat complicated. The provinces +were divided between the Emperor and the Senate; those heads of +provinces who were directly responsible to the Emperor and the military +authorities were called propraetors; those who were under the +jurisdiction of the Senate were called proconsuls. In mentioning these +officers Luke never makes a mistake; he gets the precise title every +time. Once, indeed, the critics thought they had caught him in an error. +Sergius Paulus, the Roman ruler of Cyprus, he calls proconsul. "Wrong!" +said the critics, "Cyprus was an imperial province; the title of this +officer must have been propraetor." But when the critics studied a little +more, they found out that Augustus put this province back under the +Senate, so that Luke's title is exactly right. And to clinch the matter, +old coins of this very date have been found in Cyprus, giving to the +chief magistrate of the island the title of proconsul. Such evidences of +the accuracy of the writer are not wanting. It is needless to insist +that he never makes a mistake; doubtless he does, in some small matters, +and we have learned to take such a view of the inspiration of the +Scriptures that the discovery of some small error does not trouble us in +the least; but the admission that he is not infallible is perfectly +consistent with the belief that he is an honest, competent, faithful +witness. This is all that he claims for himself, this is all that we +claim for him, but this we do claim. We do not believe that he was a +conscienceless impostor. We do not believe that the man who told the +story of Ananias and Sapphira was himself a monumental liar. We believe +that he meant to tell the truth, and the whole truth, and nothing but +the truth. Therefore, we believe that he lived in the times of the +apostles, and received from them, as he says that he did, the facts that +he recorded in his Gospel; that he was the traveling companion and +missionary helper of Paul, as he intimates that he was, and that he has +given us a true account of the life and work of that great apostle. + +The constant and undesigned coincidences between the Acts of the +Apostles and the Epistles of Paul--the many ways in which the personal +and historical references of the latter support the statements of the +former--are also strong evidence of the genuineness of the Acts. Putting +all these indirect and incidental proofs together the historical verity +of the Acts seems to me very firmly established. That there are critical +difficulties may be admitted; some passages of this ancient writing are +not easily explained; there are discrepancies, for example, between the +story of the resurrection and ascension of Christ as told in Luke and +the same story as related in the Acts; possibly the writer obtained +fuller information in the interval between the publication of these two +books by which he corrected the earlier narrative. In the different +accounts of the conversion of Paul there are also disagreements which we +cannot reconcile; nevertheless, in the words of Dr. Donaldson, "Even +these very accounts contain evidence in them that they were written by +the same writer, and they do not destroy the force of the rest of the +evidence." [Footnote: _Encyc. Brit._, i. 124. ] + +The theory of Baur that this book was written in the last part of the +second century by a disciple of St. Paul, and that it is mainly a work +of fiction, intended to bring about a reconciliation between two +bitterly hostile parties in the church, the Pauline and the Petrine +sects, need not detain us long. Baur contends that the church in the +first two centuries was split in twain, the followers of Peter insisting +that no man could become a Christian without first becoming a Jew, the +followers of Paul maintaining that the Jewish ritual was abolished, and +that the Gentiles ought to have immediate access to the Christian +fellowship. Their antagonism was so radical and far-reaching that at the +end of the apostolic age the two parties had no dealings with each +other. "Then," in the words of Professor Fisher, who is here summarizing +the theory of Baur, "followed attempts to reconcile the difference, and +to bridge the gulf that separated Gentile from Jewish, Pauline from +Petrine Christianity. To this end various irenical and compromising +books were written in the name of the apostles and their helpers. The +most important monument of this pacifying effort is the Book of Acts, +written in the earlier part of the second century by a Pauline Christian +who, by making Paul something of a Judaizer, and then representing Peter +as agreeing with him in the recognition of the rights of the Gentiles, +hoped, not in vain, to produce a mutual friendliness between the +respective partisans of the rival apostles. The Acts is a fiction +founded on facts, and written for a specific doctrinal purpose. The +narrative of the council or conference of the Apostles, for example +(Acts xx.), is pronounced a pure invention of the writer, and such a +representation of the condition of things as is inconsistent with Paul's +own statements, and for this and other reasons plainly false. The same +ground is taken in respect to the conversion of Cornelius, and the +vision of Peter concerning it." [Footnote: _The Supernatural Origin of +Christianity,_ pp. 211,212.] + +For this theory there is, of course, some slight historical basis. It is +true, as we have seen, that Peter and Paul did have a sharp disagreement +on this very question at Antioch. It is also true that both these great +apostles behaved quite inconsistently, Peter at Antioch, and Paul +afterwards at Jerusalem, when he consented to the propositions of the +Judaizers, and burdened himself with certain Jewish observances in a +vain attempt to conciliate some of the weaker brethren. That the story +of the Acts unflinchingly shows us the weaknesses and errors of the +great apostles is good evidence of its veracity. But the notion that it +is a work of fiction fabricated for such purposes as are outlined above +is utterly incredible. Those Epistles of Paul which Baur admits to be +genuine contain abundant disproof of his theory. There never was any +such schism as he fancies. Paul spends a good part of his time in his +last missionary journey in collecting funds for the relief of those poor +"saints," for so he calls them, at Jerusalem; and every reference that +he makes to them is of the most affectionate character. Paul recognizes +in the most emphatic way the authority of the other apostles, and the +fellowship of labor and suffering by which he is united to them. All +this and much more of the same import we find in those epistles which +Baur admits to be the genuine writings of Paul. In short, it may be said +that after the thorough discussion to which his theory has been +subjected for the last twenty-five years, it has scarcely a sound leg +left to stand on. It may be admitted to be one of the most brilliant +works of the historical imagination which the century has produced. It +is supported by vast learning, and it has thrown much light on certain +movements of the early church; but, taken as a whole it is unscientific +and contradictory; it raises two difficulties, where it disposes of one, +and it ignores more facts than it includes. + +We return from this excursion through the fields of destructive +criticism with a strong conviction that this narrative of the Acts of +the Apostles was written by Luke the Evangelist, the companion and +fellow-worker of Paul, and that it gives us a veracious history of the +earliest years of the Christian church. + +The last of the New Testament books does not belong chronologically at +the end of the collection. There was a tradition, to which Irenaeus gives +currency, that it was written during the reign of Domitian, about 97 or +98 A. D. But this tradition is now almost universally discredited. +Critics of all classes date the book as early as 75-79 A. D., while the +best authorities put it nearly ten years earlier, in the autumn of 68 or +the spring of 69. As Archdeacon Farrar suggests, it would be vastly +better if these books of the New Testament were arranged in true +chronological order; they could be more easily understood. The fact that +this weird production stands at the end of the collection has made upon +many minds a wrong impression as to its meaning, and has given it a kind +of significance to which it is not entitled. + +The authorship of the book is quite generally ascribed to John the son +of Zebedee, brother of James, and one of the apostles of our Lord. Even +the destructive critics agree to this; some among them say that there is +less doubt about the date and the authorship of this book than about +almost any other New Testament writing. In making this concession they +intend, however, to discredit the Johannine authorship of the Fourth +Gospel. The more certain we are that John wrote the Revelation, they +argue, the more certain are we that he did not write the Gospel which +bears his name; for the style of the two writings is so glaringly +contrasted that it is simply impossible that both could have come from +the same writer. This does not seem nearly so clear to me as it does to +some of these learned and perspicacious critics. A great contrast there +is, indeed, between the style of the Revelation and that of the Gospel; +but this contrast may be explained. It is said, in the first place, that +the Greek of the Apocalypse is very bad Greek, full of ungrammatical +sentences, abounding in Hebraisms, while that of the Gospel is good +Greek, accurate and rhetorical in its structure. But this is by no means +an unaccountable phenomenon. The first book was written by the apostle +very soon, probably, after his removal to Ephesus. He had never, I +suppose, been accustomed to use the Greek familiarly in his own country; +had never written in it at all, and it is not strange that he should +express himself awkwardly when he first began to write Greek; that the +Aramaic idioms should constantly reproduce themselves in his Greek +sentences. After he had been living for twenty-five years in the +cultivated Greek city of Ephesus, using the Greek language continually, +it is probable that he would write it more elegantly. + +But it is said that the rhetorical style of the one book differs +radically from that of the other. Doubtless. The one book is an +apocalypse, the other is a biography. John may not have been a practiced +_litterateur,_ but he certainly had literary sense and feeling +enough to know how to put a very different color and atmosphere into an +apocalyptical writing from that which he would employ in a report of the +life and words of Jesus. Without any reflection, indeed, he would +instinctively use the apocalyptic imagery; his pages would flare and +resound with the lurid symbolism peculiar to the apocalypses. How +definite a type of literature this was we shall presently see; no +writer, while using it, would clearly manifest his own personality. And +if through all this disguise we do discern symptoms of a temper more +fervid and a spirit more Judaic than that which finds expression in the +Fourth Gospel, let us remember that the ripened wisdom of the old man +speaks in the latter, and the intense enthusiasm of conscious strength +in the former. This John, let us not forget, was not in his youth a +paragon of mildness; it was he and his brother James who earned the +sobriquet of Boanerges, "Sons of thunder;" it was they who wanted to +call down fire from heaven to consume an inhospitable Samaritan village. +Moreover, we shall see as we go on that the times in which this +apocalypse was written were times in which the mildest, mannered men +would be apt to forget their decorum, and speak with unwonted intensity. +A man with any blood in him, who undertook to write in the year 68 of +the themes with which the soul of this apostle was then on fire, would +be likely to show, no matter in what vehicle of speech his thought might +be conveyed, some sign of the tumult then raging within him. + +All these circumstances, taken together, enable me to explain the +difference between the literary form of the Revelation and that of the +Gospel. But when we come to look a little more deeply into the meaning +of the two books, we shall find that beneath all this dissimilarity +there are some remarkable points of agreement. Quite a number of the +leading ideas and conceptions of the one book reappear in the other; the +idea of Christ as the _Word_ or _Logos_ of God, the representation +of Christ as the Lamb, as the Good Shepherd, as the Light, are peculiar to +John; we find them emphasized in the Gospel and in the Revelation. The +unity of the two books in fundamental conceptions has been admirably +brought out by Dr. Sears, in his volume entitled "The Heart of Christ." +And after weighing the evidence, I find neither historical nor +psychological reasons sufficient to overthrow my belief that the Fourth +Gospel, as well as the Revelation, was written by John the Apostle. + +The Greek name of the book means an uncovering or unveiling, and is +fairly interpreted, therefore, by our word Revelation. It belongs to a +class of books which were produced in great numbers during the two +centuries preceding the birth of Christ and the two centuries following; +and no one can understand it or interpret it who does not know something +of this species of literature, of the forms of expression peculiar to +it, and of the purposes which it was intended to serve. + +We have in the Old Testament one Apocalyptic book, that of Daniel, and +there are apocalyptical elements in two or three of the prophecies. The +fact that the Book of Daniel bears this character is a strong argument +for the lateness of its origin; for it was in the last years of the +Jewish nationality that this kind of writing became popular. We have six +or seven books of this kind, which are written mainly from the +standpoint of the old dispensation, part of which appeared just before +and part shortly after the beginning of our era; and there are nearly a +dozen volumes of Christian apocalypses, all of which employ similar +forms of expression, and are directed towards similar ends. Doubtless +these are only a few of the great number of apocalyptical books which +those ages produced. Their characteristics are well set forth by Dr. +Davidson:-- + +"This branch of later Jewish literature took its rise after the older +prophecy had ceased, when Israel suffered sorely from Syrian and Roman +oppression. Its object was to encourage and comfort the people by +holding forth the speedy restoration of the Davidic Kingdom of Messiah. +Attaching itself to the national hope, it proclaimed the impending of a +glorious future, in which Israel freed from her enemies should enjoy a +peaceful and prosperous life under her long-wished-for deliverer. The +old prophets became the vehicle of these utterances. Revelations, +sketching the history of Israel and of heathenism, are put into their +mouths. The prophecies take the form of symbolical images and marvelous +visions.... Working in this fashion upon the basis of well-known +writings, imitating their style, and artificially reproducing their +substance, the authors naturally adopted the anonymous. The difficulty +was increased by their having to paint as future, events actually near, +and to fit the manifestation of a personal Messiah into the history of +the times. Many apocalyptists employed obscure symbols and mysterious +pictures, veiling the meaning that it might not be readily seen. +[Footnote: _Encyc. Brit._, i. 174. ] + +"Every time," says Dr. Harnack, "the political situation culminated in a +crisis for the people of God, the apocalypses appeared stirring up the +believers; in spirit, form, plan, and execution they closely resembled +each other.... They all spoke in riddles; that is, by means of images, +symbols, mystic numbers, forms of animals, etc., they half concealed +what they meant to reveal. The reasons for this procedure are not far to +seek: (1.) Clearness and distinctness would have been too profane; only +the mysterious appears divine. (2.) It was often dangerous to be too +distinct." [Footnote: _Encyc. Brit._, xx. 496. ] + +That these writings appeared in troublous times, and that they dealt +with affairs of the present and of the immediate future, must always be +borne in mind. Certain symbolical conceptions are common to them; +earthquakes denote revolutions; stars falling from heaven typify the +downfall of kings and dynasties; a beast is often the emblem of a +tyrant; the turning of the sun into darkness and the moon into blood +signify carnage and destruction upon the earth. We have these symbolisms +in several of the Old Testament writings as well as in many of the +apocalyptical books which are not in our canon; and the interpretation +of such passages is not at all difficult when we understand the usage of +the writers. + +Of these apocalyptic books one of the most remarkable is the Book of +Enoch, which appears to have been written a century or two before +Christ. It purports to be a revelation made to and through the patriarch +Enoch; it contains an account of the fall of the angels, and of a +progeny of giants that sprung from the union of these exiled celestials +with the daughters of men; it takes Enoch on a tour of observation +through heaven and earth under the guidance of angels, who explain to +him many things supernal and mundane; it deals in astronomical and +meteorological mysteries of various sorts, and in a series of symbolical +visions seeks to disclose the events of the future. It is a grotesque +production; one does not find much spiritual nutriment in it, but Jude +makes a quotation from it, in his epistle, as if he considered it Holy +Scripture. + +"The Fourth Book of Esdras" is another Jewish book of the same kind, +which may have been written about the hundredth year of our era. It +purports to be the work of Ezra, whom it misplaces, chronologically, +putting him in the thirtieth year of the Captivity. The problem of the +writer is the restoration of the nation, destroyed and scattered by the +Roman power. He makes the ancient scribe and law-giver of Israel his +mouthpiece, but he is dealing with the events of his own time. +Nevertheless, his allusions are veiled and obscure; he speaks in +riddles, yet he speaks to a people who understand his riddles, and know +how to take his symbolic visions. This book is in our English Apocrypha, +under the title 2 Esdras. + +"The Book of Jubilees," which assumes to be a revelation made to Moses +on Mount Sinai, "The Ascension of Moses," "The Apocalypse of Moses," and +the "Apocalypse of Baruch," are other similar books of the Jewish +literature. + +Of apocalyptical Christian writings, I may mention "The Sibylline +Books," "The Apocalypse of Paul," "The Apocalypse of Peter," "The +Revelation of Bartholomew," and "The Ascension of Isaiah," and there is +also another "Apocalypse of John," a feeble imitation of the one with +which our canon closes. These books appeared in the second, third, and +fourth centuries of our era; they generally look forward to the second +coming of Christ, and set forth in various figures and symbols the +conflicts and persecutions which his saints must encounter, the +destruction of his foes, and the establishment of his kingdom. + +It will be seen, therefore, that the Revelation of St. John is not +unique; and the inference will not be rash that much light may be thrown +upon its dark sayings by a careful study of kindred books. + +It may be answered that the writer of this book is inspired, and that +nothing can be learned of the meaning of an inspired book by studying +uninspired books. I reply that no inspired book can be understood at all +without a careful study of uninspired books. The Greek grammar and the +Greek lexicon are uninspired books, and no man can understand a single +one of the books of the New Testament without carefully studying both of +them, or else availing himself of the labor of some one else who has +diligently studied them. An inspired writer uses language,--the same +language that uninspired writers use; the meaning of language is fixed +not by inspiration, but by usage; you must study the grammar and the +lexicon to learn about the usage. And the case is precisely similar when +an inspired writer uses a peculiar form of literature like the +apocalyptical writings. He knows when he uses symbolisms of this class +that they will be interpreted according to the common usage; he expects +and desires that they shall be so understood; and, therefore, in order +to understand them, we must know what the usage is. + +When our Lord, speaking of the calamities which were about to fall upon +the Jewish people, said, "Immediately after the tribulation of those +days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, +and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens +shall be shaken," he was speaking to people who were perfectly familiar +with language of this sort, because the same expressions occur over and +over again in their prophets, and are there distinctly declared to mean +great political overturnings. He used the apocalyptic phraseology, and +he expected them to give it the apocalyptic signification. If we wish to +understand the Scripture, we must understand the language of Scripture, +and this means not only the grammatical forms, but also the symbolic +usages of the language. + +We have seen that the apocalypses are apt to appear in times of great +calamity, and we have accepted the verdict of later scholarship, that +this Apocalypse of St. John appeared about 68 or 69 A.D. Was this a time +of trouble in that Eastern world? Verily it was; the most appalling hour +perhaps in the world's history. The unspeakable Nero was either still +upon the throne of the Roman Empire, or had just reeled from that +eminence to the doom of a craven suicide. The last years of his life +were gorged with horror. The murder of his brother, the burning of Rome, +probably by his connivance, if not by his command, in order that he +might sate his appetite for sensations upon this horrid spectacle; +following this the fiendish scheme to charge this incendiarism upon the +Christians, and slaughter them by tens of thousands in all the cities of +the Empire,--these are only instances of a career which words are too +feeble to portray. Those who succeeded him in this supreme power were +not much less ferocious; the very name of pity seemed to have been +blotted from the Roman speech; the whole Empire reeked with cruelty and +perfidy. While such men ruled at Rome it could not be supposed that the +imperial representatives in the provinces would be temperate and just. +Some of them, at any rate, had learned the lesson of the hour, and were +as perfidious, as truculent, as base as their master could have wished. +Such a one was that Gessius Floras who was the procurator of Judea, and +who seemed to have exhausted the ingenuity of a malignant nature in +stirring up the Jews to insurrection. By every species of indignity and +cruelty he finally stung the long-suffering people into a perfect fury, +and the rebellion which broke out in Palestine in the year 66 was one of +the most fearful eruptions of human nature that the world has ever seen. +Florus had raised the demon; now the legions of Rome must be called in +to exorcise it. It was a terrible struggle. All the energies of Jewish +fanaticisms were enlisted; the Zealots, the fiercest party among them, +not content with slaughtering their Roman enemies, turned their hands +against every man of their own nation who ventured to question the +wisdom of their desperate resistance. In Jerusalem itself a reign of +terror raged which makes the French Revolution seem in comparison a calm +and orderly procedure. + +At the beginning of the outbreak Nero had sent one of his trusted +generals, Vespasian, and Vespasian's son Titus, to put down the +insurrection. Neither of these soldiers was a sentimentalist; both +believed as heartily as did Wentworth in later years that the word of +the hour was Thorough. They started with their armies from Antioch in +March, 67, resolved on sweeping Palestine with the besom of destruction. +Cities and villages, one by one, were besieged, captured, destroyed; +men, women, and children were indiscriminately massacred. The Jewish +army fought every inch of the ground like tigers; but they were +overpowered and beaten in detail, and steadily forced southward. +Blackened walls, pools of blood, and putrefying corpses were all that +the Romans left in their rear; ruthlessly they drove the doomed people +before them toward their stronghold of Jerusalem. In the autumn of that +year Vespasian withdrew his army into winter-quarters, and left the +Zealots in Jerusalem to their orgy of brigandage and butchery. He could +well afford to rest and let them do his deadly work. + +In the spring of the following year, the siege of Jerusalem began. The +Christians of the city had fled to Pella, east of the Jordan; the +remnant of the Jews held their sacred heights with the courage of +despair. + +It is at this very juncture that this book of the Revelation was +written. John testifies that it was written on Patmos, a desolate islet +of the Aegean Sea, west of Asia Minor, to which he had either been +banished by some tool of Nero, or else had betaken himself for solitude +and reflection. To him, in this retreat, the awful tidings had come of +the scourge that had fallen on the land of his fathers; added to this, +the conflagration at Rome, the Neronian persecution, all the horrors of +the past decade were fresh in his memory. May we not say that the time +was ripe for an apocalyptic message? + +It is in these events, then, that we must find the explanation of much +of this symbolical language. Such is the law of the apocalypse, and this +apocalypse may be expected to conform to the law. St. John is instructed +by the angel to write "the things which thou sawest, and the things +which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter,"--"the +things which must _shortly_ come to pass," the first verse more +explicitly states. It is the past which he has seen, the present, and +the immediate future with which his visions are concerned. It is not any +attempt to outline the whole course of human history; it is the picture, +in mystic symbols, of the present crisis and of the deliverance which is +to follow it. There is no room here for a commentary on the Apocalypse; +I will only indicate, in a rapid glance, the outline of the book. + +The first three chapters are occupied with the epistles to the seven +churches which are in Asia, administering reproof, exhortation, comfort, +and counsel to the Christians in these churches,--faithful, stirring, +persuasive appeals, whose meaning can be easily understood, and whose +truth is often sorely needed by the churches of our own time. + +Then begins the proper Apocalypse, with the first vision of the throne +in heaven, and sitting thereon the Lamb that was slain, who is also the +Lion of the tribe of Judah. The book sealed with seven seals is given to +him to open, and the opening of each seal discloses a new vision. The +first seal opened shows a white horse bearing a rider who carries a bow +and wears a crown, and who goes forth conquering and to conquer. This is +the emblem of the Messiah whose conquest of the world is represented as +beginning. But the Messiah once said, "I came not to bring peace, but a +sword," and the consequences of his coming must often be strife and +sorrow because of the malignity of men. And therefore the three seals +which are opened next disclose a fiery horse, the symbol of War, a black +horse, whose rider is Famine, a pale horse in whose saddle is Death. The +opening of the fifth seal shows the martyred multitude before the throne +of God. The sixth discloses the desolation and the ruin taking place +upon the earth. Thus the mighty panorama passes constantly before our +eyes; the confusion, the devastation, the woes, the scourges of mankind +through which Messiah's Kingdom is advancing to its triumph. The seals, +the trumpets, the vials bring before us representations of the +retributions and calamities which are falling upon mankind. Sometimes we +seem to be able to fix upon a historical event which the vision clearly +symbolizes; sometimes the meaning to us is vague; perhaps if we had +lived in that day the allusion would have been more intelligible. + +There is, however, one great central group of these visions round about +which the others seem to be arrayed as scenic accessories, whose +interpretation the writer has taken great pains to indicate. These are +the visions found in chapters xii., xiii., xvi., and xvii. The woman, +sun-clad, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars upon +her head (chap, xii.), is beyond all question the ancient Jewish church; +the child which is born to the woman is the Christian church; the great +red dragon that seeks to devour the child is the Satanic power, the +Prince of this world. The Dragon is here on the earth because he has +been expelled from heaven. The war of the Dragon against the woman +indicates the persecutions of the church; the flight of the woman to the +wilderness may symbolize the recent escape of the mother church from +Jerusalem to Pella. + +The next vision shows a Beast, coming up out of the sea, with seven +heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten diadems, and on his heads +names of blasphemy. Here we have an instance of that confounding of +symbols, the merging of one in another, which is very common in the +apocalyptic writings. The beast is, primarily, Nero, or the Roman +Empire, as represented by--Nero. The ten horns are the ten chief +provinces; the seven heads are seven emperors. "It is a symbol," says +Dr. Farrar, "interchangeably of the Roman Empire and of the Emperor. In +fact, to a greater degree than at any period of history, the two were +one. Roman history had dwindled down into a personal drama. The Roman +Emperor could say with literal truth, _'L'Etat c'est moi'_. And a +wild beast was a Jew's natural symbol either for a Pagan Kingdom or for +its autocrat." [Footnote: _The Early Days of Christianity_, p. +463.] I can do no better than to repeat to you a small part of Dr. +Farrar's further comment upon this vision. + +"This wild beast of Heathen Rome has ten horns, which represent the ten +main provinces of Imperial Rome. It has the power of the Dragon, that +is, it possesses the Satanic dominion of the 'Prince of the power of the +air.' + +"On each of its heads is the name of blasphemy. Every one of the seven +Kings, however counted, had borne the (to Jewish ears) blasphemous +surname of Augustus (Sebastos, one to be adored); had received +apotheosis, and been spoken of as _Divine_ after his death; had +been crowned with statues, adorned with divine attributes, had been +saluted with divine titles, and, in some instances, had been absolutely +worshiped, and that in his lifetime.... + +"The diadems are on the horns, because the Roman _Proconsuls_, as +delegates of the Emperor, enjoy no little share of the Caesarean +autocracy and splendor, but the name of blasphemy is only on the heads, +because the Emperor alone receives divine honors and alone bears the +daring title of Augustus." [Footnote: _Ibid_., p. 464.] + +One of the heads of this Beast was wounded to death, but the deadly +wound was healed. It was the universal belief among Pagans and +Christians that the world had not yet seen the last of Nero. Either his +suicide was feigned and ineffectual, and he was in hiding, or else he +would come to life and resume his savage splendors and his gilded +villainies. To make it certain that the writer here refers to this +expectation, we find, in chapter xvii., another reference to the Beast, +which seems at first a riddle, but which is easily interpreted. "The +five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come"; "The Beast that +thou sawest was and is not, and is about to come out of the abyss." "The +Beast that was and is not, even he is an eighth, and is of the seven." +The head and the Beast are here identified. The meaning is that five +Roman Emperors are dead, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero; +"one is,"--Galba is now reigning; "the other" (Otho) "is not yet come;" +but he must come soon for Galba is an old man and cannot long survive, +and "the Beast that was and is not,"--Nero,--who is "about to come out +of the abyss,"--to return to life,--"even he is an eighth, and is of +the seven." He is one of the seven, for he was the fifth, and he will be +the eighth. It was the universal Christian belief that Nero, raised from +the dead, would be the future Antichrist, and it is this belief which +the vision reflects. To make the case still clearer the writer gives us, +by the current Hebrew Kabbalistic method, the number of the Beast, that +is to say, the numerical value of his name. Each letter of the old +alphabets has a numerical value. Thus the writer of the Sibyllines +points out the Greek name of Jesus--[Greek: Iota-eta-sigma-omicron- +upsilon-sigma],--by saying that its whole number is equivalent to eight +units, eight tens, and eight hundreds. This is the exact numerical +value of the six Greek letters composing the Saviour's name, +10+8+200+70+400+200=888. Precisely so John here tells us what is the +numerical value of the letters in the name of the Beast. If we tried +the Latin or the Greek names of Nero the clue would not be found; but +John was writing mainly for Hebrews, and the Hebrew letters of _Kesar +Neron_, the name by which every Jew knew this Emperor, amount to +exactly 666. + +Many other of the features of this veiled description tally perfectly +with the character of this infamous ruler; and when the evidence is all +brought together it seems as though the apostle could scarcely have made +his meaning more obvious if he had written Nero's name in capital +letters. + +This is the central vision of the Apocalypse, as I have said; round +about this the whole cyclorama revolves; and it has been the standing +enigma of the interpreters in all the ages. The early church generally +divined its meaning; but in later years the high-soaring exegesis which +has spread this Apocalypse all over the centuries and found in it +prophetic symbols of almost all the events that have happened in +mediaeval and modern history, has identified the Beast with countless +characters, among them Genseric, King of the Vandals, Benedict, Trajan, +Paul V., Calvin, Luther, Mohammed, Napoleon. All this wild guessing +arises from ignorance of the essential character and purpose of the +apocalyptical writings. + +I can follow this enticing theme no further. Let it suffice to call the +attention of all who desire to reach some sober conclusions upon the +meaning of the book to Archdeacon Farrar's "Early Days of Christianity," +in which the whole subject is treated with the amplest learning and the +soundest literary judgment. + +The Book of Revelation has been, as I have intimated, the favorite +tramping ground of all the hosts of theological visionaries; men who +possessed not the slightest knowledge of the history or the nature of +apocalyptic literature, and whose appetite for the mysterious and the +monstrous was insatiable, have expatiated here with boundless license. +To find in these visions descriptions of events now passing and +characters now upon the stage is a sore temptation. To use these hard +words, the Beast, the Dragon, the False Prophet, as missiles wherewith +to assail those who belong to a school or a party with which you are at +variance, is a chance that no properly constituted partisan could +willingly fore-go. Thus we have seen this book dragged into the +controversies and applied to the events of all the centuries, and the +history of its interpretation is, as one of its interpreters confesses, +the opprobrium of exegesis. But if one ceases to look among these +symbols for a predictive outline of modern history, "a sort of +anticipated Gibbon," and begins to read it in the light of the +apocalyptic method, it may have rich and large meanings for him. He will +not be able, indeed, to explain it all; to some of these riddles the +clue has been lost; but, in the words of Dr. Farrar, "he will find that +the Apocalypse is what it professes to be,--an inspired outline of +contemporary history, and of the events to which the sixth decade of the +first century gave immediate rise. He will read in it the tremendous +manifesto of a Christian seer against the blood-stained triumph of +imperial heathenism; a paean and a prophecy over the ashes of the +martyrs; the thundering reverberations of a mighty spirit struck by the +fierce plectrum of the Neronian persecution, and answering in +impassioned music which, like many of David's Psalms, dies away into the +language of rapturous hope." [Footnote: _Early Days of Christianity_, +p. 429. ] + +For we must not forget that this is a song of triumph. This seer is no +pessimist. The strife is hot, the carnage is fearful, they that rise up +against our Lord and his Messiah are many and mighty, but there is no +misgiving as to the event. For all these woes there is solace, after all +these conflicts peace. Even in the midst of the raging wars and +persecutions, the door is opened now and again into the upper realm of +endless joy and unfading light. And he "whose name is called The Word of +God," upon whose garment and whose thigh the name is written, "King of +Kings and Lord of Lords," will prevail at last over all his foes. The +Beast and the Dragon, and the False Prophet and the Scarlet Woman (the +harlot city upon her seven hills whose mystic name is Babylon) will all +be cast into the lake of fire; then to the purified earth the New +Jerusalem shall come down out of heaven from God. This is the emblem and +the prophecy, not of the city beyond the stars, but of the purified +society which shall yet exist upon the earth,--the fruition of his work +who came, not to judge the world, but to save the world. It is on these +plains, along these rivers, by these fair shores that the New Jerusalem +is to stand; it is not heaven; it is a city that comes down out of +heaven from God. No statement could be more explicit. The glorious +visions which fill the last chapters of this wonderful book are the +promise of that "All hail Hereafter," for which every Christian patriot, +every lover of mankind, is always looking and longing and fighting and +waiting. And he who, by the mouth of this seer, testifieth the words +of the prophecy of this book saith, "Yea, I come quickly. Even so, come, +Lord Jesus." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE CANON. + + + +We have studied with what care we were able tee historical problem of +the origin and authorship of the several books of the Old and New +Testament; we now come to a deeply interesting question,--the question +of the canon. + +This word, as used in this connection, means simply an authoritative +list or catalogue. The canon of the Bible is the determined and official +table of contents. The settlement of the canon is the process of +determining what and how many books the Bible shall contain. In the Old +Testament are thirty-nine books, in the New Testament twenty-seven; and +it is a fixed principle with Protestants that these books and no others +constitute the Sacred Scriptures,--that no more can be added and none +taken away. + +The popular belief respecting this matter has been largely founded upon +the words with which the Book of Revelation concludes:-- + +"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of +this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the +plagues which are written in this book: and if any man shall take away +from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his +part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written +in this book." + +The common notion is that the "book" here referred to is the Bible; and +that these sentences, therefore, are the divine authorization of the +present contents of the Bible, a solemn testimony from the Lord himself +to the integrity of the canon. But this is a misapprehension. The book +referred to is the Revelation of St. John,--not the Bible, not even the +New Testament. When these words were written, says Dr. Barnes in his +"Commentary," "the books that now constitute what we call the Bible were +not collected into a single volume. That passage, therefore, should not +be adduced as referring to the whole of the Sacred Scriptures." In fact, +when these words of the Revelation were written, several of the books of +the New Testament were not yet in existence; for this is by no means the +last of the New Testament writings, though it stands at the end of the +collection. The Gospel and the Epistles of John were added after this; +and we may trust that no plagues were "added" to the beloved disciple +for writing them. + +Nevertheless, as I said, it is assumed that the contents of the Bible +are fixed; that the collection is and for a long time has been complete +and perfect; that it admits neither of subtractions nor of additions; +that nothing is in the book which ought not to be there, and that there +is nothing outside of its covers which ought to be within them; that the +canon is settled, inflexibly and infallibly and finally. + +The questions now to be considered are these: Who settled it? When was +it settled? On what grounds was it determined? Was any question ever +raised concerning the sacredness or authority of any of the books now +included in the canon? Did any other books, not now included in the +canon, ever claim a place in it? If so, why were these rejected and +those retained? + +This is, as will be seen, a simple question of history. We can trace +with tolerable certainty the steps by which this collection of sacred +writings was made; we know pretty well who did it, and when and how it +was done. And there is nothing profane or irreverent in this inquiry, +for the work of collecting these writings and fixing this canon has been +done mainly, if not wholly, by men who were not inspired and did not +claim to be. There is nothing mysterious or miraculous about their +doings any more than there is about the acts of the framers of the +Westminster Confession, or the American Constitution. They were dealing +with sacred matters, no doubt, when they were trying to determine what +books should be received and used as Scriptures, but they were dealing +with them in exactly the same way that we do, by using the best lights +they had. + +As we have learned in previous chapters, the beginning of our canon was +made by Ezra the scribe, who, in the fifth century before Christ, newly +published and consecrated the Pentateuch, or Five Books of Moses, as the +Holy Book of the Jewish people. + +After Ezra came Nehemiah, to whom the beginning of the second collection +of Jewish Scriptures, called the Prophets, is ascribed in one of the +apocryphal books. But this collection was not apparently finished and +closed by Nehemiah. The histories of Joshua and Judges, of Samuel and +Kings, and the principal books of the Prophets were undoubtedly gathered +by him; but it would seem that the collection was left open for future +prophecies. + +About the same time the third group of the Old Testament Scriptures, +"The Hagiographa," or "Writings," began to be collected. No book of the +Bible contains any information concerning the making of these two later +collections, the Prophets and the Hagiographa; and we are obliged to +rely wholly upon Jewish tradition, and upon references which we find in +Jewish writers. Professor Westcott, who is one of the most conservative +of Biblical scholars, says that "the combined evidence of tradition and +of the general course of Jewish history leads to the conclusion that the +canon in its present shape was formed gradually during a lengthened +interval, beginning with Ezra and extending through a part, or even the +whole of the Persian period," or from B.C. 458 to 332. Without adopting +this conclusion, we may remark that this last date, 332, was nearly a +century after Nehemiah and Malachi, the last of the prophets; so that if +the canon was closed at a date so late as this, it must have been closed +by men who were certainly not known to have been inspired. If it was +forming, through all this period, then it must have been formed in part +by men in behalf of whom no claim of inspiration has ever been set up. + +According to Jewish tradition the work of collecting, editing, and +authorizing the sacred writings was done by a certain "Great Synagogue," +founded by Ezra, presided over by Nehemiah, after him, and continuing in +existence down to about the year 200 B.C. This is wholly a tradition, +and has been proved to be baseless. There never was such a synagogue; +the Scriptures know nothing about it; the apocryphal writers, so +numerous and widely dispersed, have never heard of it; Philo and +Josephus are ignorant concerning it. None of the Jewish authors of the +period who freely discuss the Scriptures and their authority makes +mention of this Great Synagogue. The story of its existence is first +heard from some Jewish rabbin hundreds of years after Christ. + +We have proof enough in the New Testament that the Jews had certain +Sacred Scriptures; the New Testament writers often quote them and refer +to them; but there is no conclusive proof that they had been gathered at +this time into a complete collection. Jesus tells the Jews that they +search the Scriptures, but he does not say how many of these Scriptures +there were in his day; Paul reminds Timothy that from a child he had +known the Holy Scriptures, but he gives no list of their titles. If we +found all the books of the Old Testament quoted or referred to by the +New Testament writers, then we should know that they possessed the same +books that we have. Most of these books are thus referred to; but there +are seven Old Testament books whose names the New Testament never +quotes, and at least five to which it makes no reference whatever: +Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. To Judges, +Chronicles, and Ezekiel it refers only in the same way that it refers to +a number of the apocryphal books. Some of these omissions appear to be +significant. The New Testament gives us therefore no definite +information by which we can determine whether the Old Testament canon +was closed at the time of Christ, nor does it tell us of what books it +was composed. + +We have seen already that two different collections of Old Testament +writings were in existence, one in Hebrew, and the other a translation +into the Greek, made by Jews in Alexandria, and called the Septuagint. +The latter collection was the one most used by our Lord and the +apostles; much the greater number of quotations from the Old Testament +found in the Gospels and the Epistles are taken from the Septuagint. +This Greek Bible contained quite a number of books which are not in the +Hebrew Bible: they were later in their origin than any of the Old +Testament books; most of them were originally written in Greek; and +while they were regarded by some of the more conservative of the Jews in +Egypt as inferior to the Law and the Prophets, they were generally +ranked with the books of the Hagiographa as sacred writings. This is +evident from the fact that they were mingled indiscriminately with these +books of the older Scriptures. You know that I am speaking now of the +apocryphal books which you find in some of your old Bibles, between the +Old and New Testaments. These were the later books contained in the +Septuagint, and not in the Hebrew Bible. But they were not sorted out by +themselves in the Septuagint; they were interspersed through the other +books, as of equal value. Thus in the Vatican Bible, of which we shall +learn more by and by, Esdras First and Second succeed the Chronicles; +Tobit and Judith are between Nehemiah and Esther; the Wisdom of Solomon +and Sirach follow Solomon's Song; Baruch is next to Jeremiah; Daniel is +followed by Susanna and Bel and the Dragon, and the collection closes +with the three books of Maccabees. + +All the old manuscripts of the Bible which we possess--those which are +regarded as above all others sacred and authoritative--contain these +apocryphal writings thus intermingled with the books of our own canon. +It is clear, therefore, that to the Alexandrian Jews these later books +were Sacred Scriptures; and it is certain also that our Lord and his +apostles used the collection which contained these books. It is said +that they do not refer to them, and it is true that they do not mention +them by name; but they do use them occasionally. Let me read you a few +passages which will illustrate their familiarity with the apocryphal +books. + +James i.19: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak." Sirach v. +11; iv. 29: "Be swift to hear." "Be not hasty in thy tongue." + +Hebrews i. 3: "Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image +of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power." +Wisdom vii. 26: "For she (Wisdom) is the brightness of the everlasting +light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his +goodness." + +Rom. ix. 21: "Hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same +lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" +Wisdom xv. 7: "For the potter, tempering soft earth, fashioneth every +vessel with much labor for our service; yea, of the same clay he maketh +both the vessels that serve for clean uses, and likewise also such as +serve to the contrary: but what is the use of either sort, the potter +himself is the judge." + +I Cor. ii. 10, 11: "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep +things of God. For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the +spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none +knoweth save the Spirit of God." Judith viii. 14: "For ye cannot find +the depth of the heart of man, neither can ye perceive the things that +he thinketh: then how can ye search out God, that hath made all these +things, and know his mind, or comprehend his purpose?" + +Several similar indications of the familiarity of the New Testament +writers with these apocryphal books might be pointed out. These are not +express citations, but they are clear appropriations of the thought and +the language of the apocryphal writers. We have, then, the most +indubitable proof that the apocryphal books were in the hands of the New +Testament writers; and so far as New Testament use authenticates an Old +Testament writing, several of the apocryphal books stand on much better +footing than do five of our Old Testament books. + +It is true that the Hebrew or Palestinian canon differed from the Greek +or Alexandrian canon; the books which were written in Greek had never +been translated into the Hebrew, and could not, of course, be +incorporated into the Hebrew canon; and there was undoubtedly a strong +feeling among the stricter Jews against recognizing any of these later +books as Sacred Scriptures; nevertheless, the Greek Bible, with all its +additions, had large currency among the Jews even in Palestine, and the +assertion that our Lord and his apostles measured the Alexandrian Bible +by the Palestinian canon, and accepted all the books of the latter while +declining to recognize any of the additions of the former, is sheer +assumption, for which there is not a particle of evidence, and against +which the facts already adduced bear convincingly. Paul, in his letter +to Timothy, refers to the "Scriptures" as having been in the hands of +Timothy from his childhood; and we have every reason to believe that the +Scriptures to which he refers was this Greek collection containing the +Apocrypha. Whatever Paul says about the inspiration of the Scriptures +must be interpreted with this fact in mind. To find in these words of +Paul the guarantee of the inspiration and infallibility of the books of +the collection which are translated from the Hebrew, and not those which +are written in Greek, is a freak of exegesis not more violent than +fantastic. We know that Paul read and used some of these apocryphal +books, and there are several of the books in our Hebrew Bible that he +never quotes or refers to in the remotest way. The attempt which is +often made to show that the New Testament writers have established, by +their testimony, the Old Testament canon, as containing just those books +which are in our Old Testament, and no more, is a most unwarrantable +distortion of the facts. + +It is true that at the time of Christ the Palestinian Jews had not, for +a century or so, added any new books to their collection, and were not +inclined to add any more. Their canon was practically closed to this +extent, that no new books were likely to get in. But it was not yet +settled that some later books, which had been trying to maintain a +footing in the canon, should not be put out. Esther, Ecclesiastes, and +Solomon's Song were regarded by some of the Palestinian Jews as sacred +books, but their right to this distinction was hotly disputed by others. +This question was not settled at the time of our Lord. + +"The canon," says Davidson, "was not considered to be closed in the +first century before and the first after Christ. There were doubts about +some portions. The Book of Ezekiel gave offense, because some of its +statements seemed to contradict the Law. Doubts about some of the others +were of a more serious nature--about Ecclesiastes, the Canticles, +Esther, and the Proverbs. The first was impugned because it had +contradictory passages and a heretical tendency; the second because of +its worldly and sensual tone; Esther for its want of religiousness; and +Proverbs on account of inconsistencies. This skepticism went far to +procure the exclusion of the suspected works from the canon and their +relegation to the class of the _genuzim_. But it did not prevail. +Hananiah, son of Hezekiah, son of Garon, about 32 B.C., is said to have +reconciled the contradictions and allayed the doubts. But these traces +of resistance to the fixity of the canon were not the last. They +reappeared about 65 A. D., as we learn from the Talmud, when the +controversy turned mainly upon the canonicity of Ecclesiastes, which the +school of Schammai, which had the majority, opposed; so that that book +was probably excluded. The question emerged again at a later synod in +Jabneh or Jamnia, when R. Eleaser ben Asaria was chosen patriarch, and +Gamaliel the Second, deposed. Here it was decided, not unanimously, +however, but by a majority of Hillelites, that Ecclesiastes and the Song +of Songs 'pollute the hands,' _i. e._, belong properly to the +Hagiographa. This was about 90 A. D. Thus the question of the canonicity +of certain books was discussed by two synods." [Footnote: _Encyc. +Brit_., v. 3.] + +By such a plain tale do we put down the fiction, so widely disseminated, +that the canon of the Old Testament was "fixed" long before the time of +Christ, and, presumably, by inspired men. It was not "fixed," even in +Palestine, until sixty years after our Lord's death; several of the +books were in dispute during the whole apostolic period, and these are +the very books which are not referred to in the New Testament. Whether +the men who finally "fixed" it were exceptionally qualified to judge of +the ethical and spiritual values of the writings in question may be +doubted. They were the kind of men who slew our Lord and persecuted his +followers. When we are asked what are our historical reasons for +believing that Esther and Ecclesiastes and Solomon's Song are sacred +books and ought to be in the Old Testament canon, let us answer: It is +not because any prophet or inspired person adjudged them to be sacred, +for no such person had anything to say about them; it is not because our +Lord and his apostles indorsed them, for they do not even mention them; +it is not because they held a place in a collection of Sacred Scriptures +used by our Lord and his apostles, for their position in that collection +was in dispute at that time; it is because the chief priests and scribes +who rejected Christ pronounced them sacred. The external authority for +these books reduces to exactly this. Those who insist that all parts of +the Old Testament are of equal value and authority, and that a +questioning of the sacredness of one book casts doubts upon the whole +collection, ought to look these facts in the face and see on what a +slender thread they suspend the Bible which they so highly value. These +later books, says one, "have been delivered to us; they have their use +and value, which is to be ascertained by a frank and reverent study of +the texts themselves; but those who insist on placing them on the same +footing of undisputed authority with the Law, the Prophets, and the +Psalms, to which our Lord bears direct testimony, and so make the whole +doctrine of the canon depend on its weakest part, sacrifice the true +strength of the evidence on which the Old Testament is received by +Christians." [Footnote: _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_, +p. 175.] + +Such, then, is the statement with respect to the Old Testament canon in +the apostolic age. The Palestinian canon, which was identical with our +Old Testament, was practically settled at the synod of Jamnia about 90 +A. D., though doubts were still entertained by devout Jews concerning +Esther. The Alexandrian collection, containing our apocryphal books, +was, however, widely circulated; and as it was the Greek version which +had been most used by the apostles, so it was the Greek version which +the early Christian fathers universally studied and quoted. Very few if +any of these Christian fathers of the first two centuries understood the +Hebrew; they could not, therefore, use the Palestinian manuscripts; the +Greek Bible was their only treasury of inspired truth, and the Greek +Bible contained the Apocrypha. Accordingly we find them quoting freely +as Sacred Scripture all the apocryphal books. Westcott gives us a table, +in Smith's "Bible Dictionary," of citations made from these apocryphal +books by fifteen of the Greek fathers, beginning with Clement of Rome +and ending with Chrysostom, and by eight Latin writers, beginning with +Tertullian and ending with Augustine. Every one of these apocryphal +books is thus quoted with some such formula as "The Scripture saith," or +"It is written," by one or more of these writers; the Book of Wisdom is +quoted by all of them except Polycarp and Cyril; Baruch and the +Additions to Daniel are quoted by the great majority of them; Origen +quotes them all, Clement of Alexandria all but one, Cyprian all but two. +It will therefore be seen that these books must have had wide acceptance +as Sacred Scriptures during the first centuries of the Christian church. +In the face of these facts, which may be found in sources as +unassailable as Smith's "Bible Dictionary," we have such statements as +the following, put forth by teachers of the people, and indorsed by +eminent theological professors:-- + +"We may say of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament that, while +some who were not Jews and who were unacquainted with Hebrew used them +to some extent, yet they never gained wide acceptance, and soon dropped +out altogether." + +"Certain apocryphal writings have since been bound up with the +Septuagint, but _there is no reason to think that they made any part +of it in the days of our Saviour_"! + +"These books were not received as canonical by the Christian fathers, +but were expressly declared to be apocryphal"! + +The last statements are copied from a volume on the Bible, prepared for +popular circulation by the president of a theological seminary! + +It is true that some of the most inquisitive and critical of the +Christian fathers entertained doubts about these apocryphal books; +Melito of Sardis traveled to Palestine on purpose to inquire into the +matter, and came back, of course, with the Palestinian canon to which, +however, he did not adhere. Origen made a similar investigation, and +seems to have been convinced that the later books ought to be regarded +as uncanonical; nevertheless, he keeps on quoting them; Jerome was the +first strenuously to challenge the canonicity of these later Greek books +and to maintain a tolerably consistent opposition to them. While, +therefore, several of these early fathers were led by their +investigations in Palestine to believe that the narrower canon was the +more correct one, their opinions had but little weight with the people +at large; and even these fathers themselves freely and constantly quoted +as Sacred Scripture the questionable writings. + +In 393 the African bishops held a council at Hippo, in which the canon +was discussed. The list agreed upon includes all the Old Testament +Scriptures of our canon, and, in addition to them, Wisdom, +Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, and the two books of Maccabees. In 397 +another council at Carthage reaffirmed the list of its predecessor. +Augustine was the leader of both councils. + +In spite of the protests of Jerome and of other scholars in all the +centuries, this list, for substance, was regarded as authoritative, +until the Council of Trent, in 1546, when the long debate was finally +settled, so far as the Roman Catholic Church is concerned, by the +adoption of the Augustinian canon, embracing the apocryphal books, the +list concluding with the following anathema. "If any one will not +receive as sacred and authoritative the whole books with all their +parts, let him be accursed." This determines the matter for all good +Catholics. Since 1546, they have known exactly how many books their +Bible contains. And if usage and tradition are and ought to be +authoritative, they have the strongest reasons for receiving as sacred +the books of their Bible; for it is beyond question that the books which +they accept and which we reject have been received and used as Sacred +Scriptures in all the ages of the church. Most of us who do not accept +usage and tradition as authoritative will continue, no doubt, to think +our own thoughts about the matter. + +The Council of Trent marks the definite separation of the Roman Catholic +Church from the Protestant reformers. Up to this time there had been +among the reformers some differences of opinion respecting the Old +Testament books; when they were excluded from the Holy Church and were +compelled to fall back upon the authority of the Bible, the present +limits of the canon at once became an important question. They did not +settle it all at once. Luther, in making his German version of the +Bible, translated Judith, Wisdom, Tobit, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 +Maccabees, the Greek additions to Esther and Daniel, with the Prayer of +Manasseh. Each of these books he prefaces with comments of his own. +First Maccabees he regards as almost equal to the other books of Holy +Scripture, and not unworthy to be reckoned among them. He had doubted +long whether Wisdom should not be admitted to the canon, and he truly +says of Sirach that it is a right good book, the work of a wise man. +Baruch and 2 Maccabees he finds fault with; but of none of these +apocryphal books does he speak so severely as of Esther, which he is +more than willing to cast out of the canon. The fact that Luther +translated these apocryphal books is good evidence that he thought them +of value to the church; nevertheless, he considered the books of the +Hebrew canon, with the exception of Esther, as occupying a higher plane +than those of the Apocrypha. Gradually this opinion gained acceptance +among the Protestants; the apocryphal books were separated from the +rest, and although by some of the Reformed churches, as by the Anglican +church, they were commended to be read "for example of life and +instruction of manners," they ceased to be regarded as authoritative +sources of Christian doctrine. Since the sixteenth century, there has +been little question among Protestants as to the extent of the canon. +The books which now compose our Old Testament, and no others, have been +found in the Bible of the Protestants for the past three hundred years. +The apocryphal books have sometimes been printed between the Old and the +New Testaments, but they have not been used in the churches, [Footnote: +The English Church uses some portions of them.] nor have they been +regarded as part of the Sacred Scripture. + +The history of the New Testament canon is much less obscure, and may be +more briefly treated. The Bible of the early Christians was the Old +Testament. They relied wholly upon this for religious instruction; they +had no thought of any other Sacred Scripture. + +I have explained in a former chapter how the Epistles and the Gospels +originated; but when these writings first came into the hands of the +disciples there was not, it is probable, any conception in their minds +that these were sacred writings, to be ranked along with the books of +the Old Testament. They read them for instruction and suggestion; they +did not at first think of them as holy. But their conviction of the +value and sacredness of these writings soon began to strengthen; we find +them quoting Gospels and Epistles with the same formula that they apply +to the Old Testament books; and thus they began to feel the need of +making a collection of this apostolic literature for use in the +churches. It is not until the second half of the second century that any +such collection comes into view. It consisted at first of two parts, The +Gospel and The Apostle; the first part contained the four Gospels, and +the second the Acts, thirteen Epistles of Paul, one of Peter, one of +John, and the Revelation. It will be seen that this twofold Testament +omitted several of our books,--the Epistle to the Hebrews, two of +John's Epistles, one of Peter's, and the Epistles of James and Jude. + +About this time there was also in circulation certain writings which are +not now in our canon, but which were sometimes included by the +authorities of that time among the apostolic writings, and were quoted +as Scripture by the early fathers. There was a book called "The Gospel +according to the Egyptians," and another entitled "The Preaching of +Peter," and another called "The Acts of Paul," and another called "The +Shepherd of Hermas," and an epistle attributed to Barnabas, and several +others, all claiming to be sacred and apostolic writings. It became, +therefore, a delicate and important question for these early Christians +to decide which of these writings were sacred, and which were not; and +they began to make lists of those which they regarded as canonical. The +earliest of these lists is a fragmentary anonymous canon, which was made +about 170. It mentions all the books in our New Testament but four,-- +Hebrews, First and Second Peter, and James. + +Irenaeus, who died about 200, had a canon which included all the books of +our New Testament except Hebrews, Jude, James, Second Peter, and Third +John. First Peter, Second John, and "The Shepherd of Hermas" he put by +themselves in a second class of writings, which he thought excellent but +not inspired. + +Clement of Alexandria (180) puts into his list most of our canonical +books, but regards several of them as of inferior value, among them +Hebrews, Second John, and Jude. In the same list of inferior writings he +includes "The Shepherd of Hermas," the "Epistle of Barnabas," and the +"Apocalypse of Peter." + +Tertullian (200) omits entirely James, Second Peter, and Third John, but +includes among useful though not inspired books, Hebrews, Jude, "The +Shepherd of Hermas," Second John, and Second Peter. + +These are the greatest authorities of the first two centuries. No +Christian teachers of that day were better informed or more trustworthy +than these, and it will be seen that they were far from agreeing with +one another or with our canon; that each one of them received as sacred +some books which we do not possess, and rejected some which we receive. + +Coming down into the third century, we find Origen (250), one of the +great scholars, wrestling with the problem. He seems to have made three +classes of the New Testament writings, the authentic, the non-authentic, +and the doubtful. The authentic books are the Gospels, the Acts, the +thirteen Epistles of Paul, and the Apocalypse; the non-authentic ones +are "The Shepherd of Hermas," "The Epistle of Barnabas," and several +other books not in our canon; and the doubtful ones are James, Jude, +Second and Third John, and Second Peter. It will be seen that Origen +admits none that are not in our collection, but that he is in doubt +respecting some that are in it. + +Facts like these are writ large over every page of the history of the +early church. And yet we have eminent theological professors asserting +that the canon of the New Testament was finally settled "during the +first half of the second century, within fifty years after the death of +the Apostle John." A more baseless statement could not be fabricated. It +is from teachers of this class that we hear the most vehement outcries +against the "Higher Criticism." + +Eusebius, who died in 340, has a list agreeing substantially with that +of Origen. + +Cyril of Jerusalem (386) includes all of our books except the +Apocalypse, and no others. + +Athanasius (365) and Augustine (430) have lists identical with ours. +This indicates a steady progress toward unanimity, and when the two +great councils of Hippo and Carthage confirmed this judgment of the two +great fathers last named, the question of the New Testament canon was +practically settled. [Footnote: It is noted, however, that the reception +of the doubtful books into the canon does not imply a recognition of +their equality with the other books. The distinct admission of their +inferiority was made by all the ecclesiastical authorities of that +period. None of the early fathers believed that all these writings were +equally inspired and equally authoritative.] Nevertheless, considerable +independent judgment on the subject still seems to have been tolerated, +and writings which we do not now receive were long included in the New +Testament collection. The three oldest manuscripts of the Bible now in +existence are the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian Bibles, +dating from the fourth and the fifth centuries. Of these the Sinaitic +and the Alexandrian Bibles both include some of these doubtful books in +the New Testament collection; the Sinai Bible has "The Epistle of +Barnabas" and "The Shepherd of Hermas;" the Alexandrian Bible the +Epistle of Clement and one of Athanasius. These old Bibles are clear +witnesses to the fact that the contents of the New Testament were not +clearly defined even so late as the fifth century. Indeed, there was +always some freedom of opinion concerning this matter until the +Reformation era. Then, of course, the Council of Trent fixed the canon +of the New Testament as well as of the Old for all good Catholics; and +the New Testament of the Catholics, unlike their Old Testament, is +identical with our own. + +The Protestants of that time were still in doubt about certain of the +New Testament books. Luther, as every one knows, was inclined to reject +the Epistle of James; he called it "a right strawy epistle." The letter +to the Hebrews was a good book, but not apostolic; he put it in a +subordinate class. Jude was a poor transcript of Second Peter, and he +assigned that also to a lower place. "The Apocalypse," says Davidson, +"he considered neither apostolic nor prophetic, but put it almost on a +level with the Fourth Book of Esdras, which he spoke elsewhere of +tossing into the Elbe." Luther's principle of judgment in many of these +cases was quite too subjective; he carried the Protestant principle of +private judgment to an extreme; I only quote his opinions to show with +what freedom the strong men of the Reformation handled these questions +of Biblical criticism. + +Zwingli rejected the Apocalypse. Oecolampadius placed James, Jude, +Second Peter, Second and Third John and the Apocalypse along with the +Apocryphal books, on a lower level than the other New Testament +Scriptures. + +The great majority of the Reformers, however, speedily fixed upon that +canon which we now receive, and their decision has not been seriously +called in question since the sixteenth century. + +I have now answered most of the questions proposed at the beginning of +this chapter. We have seen that while the great majority of the books in +both Testaments have been universally received, questions have been +raised at various times concerning the canonicity of several of the +books in either Testament; that many good men, from the second century +before Christ until the sixteenth century after Christ, have disputed +the authority of some of these books. We have seen also that quite a +number of other books have at one time and another been regarded as +sacred and numbered among the Holy Scriptures; we have seen that the +final judgment respecting these doubtful books is different in different +branches of the church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Catholic +Church admitting into their canons several books that the Reformed +churches exclude from theirs. + +We have seen that the decision which has been reached by the several +branches of the church respecting this matter has been reached as the +result of discussion and argument; that the canonicity of the disputed +books was freely canvassed by the church fathers in their writings, by +the church councils in their assemblies, by the Reformers in their +inquiries; that no supernatural methods have been employed to determine +the canonicity of these several books; but that the enlightened reason +of the church has been the arbiter of the whole matter. + +The grounds upon which the Jews acted in admitting or rejecting books +into their Scriptures it might be difficult for us to determine. In some +cases we know that they were fanciful and absurd. But the grounds on +which the Christians proceeded in making up their canon we know pretty +well. + +The first question respecting each one of the Christian writings seems +to have been: "Was it written by an apostle?" If this question could be +answered in the affirmative, the book was admitted. And in deciding this +question, the Christians of later times made appeal to the opinions of +those of earlier times; authority and tradition had much to do in +determining it. "Was it the general opinion of the early church that +this book was written by an apostle?" they asked. And if this seemed to +be the case, they were inclined to admit it. Besides, they compared +Scripture with Scripture: certain books were unquestionably written by +Paul or Luke or John; other books which were doubted were also ascribed +to them; if they found the language of the disputed book corresponding +to that of the undisputed book, in style and in forms of expression, +they judged that it must have been written by the same man. Upon such +grounds of external and internal evidence, it finally came to be +believed that all of the New Testament books except four were written by +apostles, and that these four, Mark, Luke, The Acts of the Apostles, and +the Epistle to the Hebrews, were written by men under the immediate +direction of apostles. + +But, it may be said, there have been great differences of opinion on +this matter through all the ages, down to the sixteenth century; how do +we know but that those good and holy men, like Ignatius and Clement and +Tertullian and Origen in the early church, and Luther and Zwingli and +Oecolampadius in the Reformed church, were right in rejecting some books +that we receive and in receiving some that we reject? + +If you were a good Catholic, that question would not trouble you. For +the fundamental article of your creed would then be, The Holy Catholic +Church, when she is represented by her bishops in a general council, can +never make a mistake. And the Holy Catholic Church in a general council +at Trent, in 1546, said that such and such books belonged to the Bible, +and that no others do; and the council of the Vatican, in 1870, said the +same thing over again, making it doubly sure; so, that, as a good +Catholic, you would have no right to any doubts or questions about it. + +But, being a Protestant, you cannot help knowing that all general +councils have made grave and terrible mistakes; that no one of them ever +was infallible; and so you could not rest satisfied with the decisions +of Trent and the Vatican, even if they gave you the same Bible that you +now possess, which, of course, they do not. What certainty has the +Protestant, then, that his canon is the correct one? He has no absolute +certainty. There is no such thing as absolute certainty with respect to +historical religious truth. But this discussion has made one or two +things plain to the dullest apprehension. + +The first is that the books of this Bible are not all of equal rank and +sacredness. If there is one truth which all the ages, with all their +voices, join to declare, it is that the Bible is made up of many +different kinds of books, with very different degrees of sacredness and +authority. For one, I do not wish to part with any of them; I find +instruction in all of them, though in some of them, as in Esther and +Ecclesiastes, it is rather as records of savagery and of skepticism, +from which every Christian ought to recoil, that I can see any value in +them. As powerful delineations of the kind of sentiments that the +Christian ought not to cherish, and the kind of doubts that he cannot +entertain without imperilling his soul, they may be useful. It is not, +therefore, at all desirable that these ancient records should be torn +asunder and portions of them flung away. That process of mutilation none +of us is wise enough to attempt. Let the Bible stand; there are good +uses for every part of it. But let us remember the lesson which this +survey has brought home to us, that these books are not all alike, and +that the message of divine wisdom is spoken to us in some of them far +more clearly than in others, + +Richard Baxter is an authority in religion for whose opinion all +conservative people ought to entertain respect. He cannot be suspected +of being a "New Departure" man; he was a stanch Presbyterian, and he +passed to the "Saints' Rest" nearly two hundred years ago. With a few +words of his upon the question now before us, this chapter may fitly +close:-- + +"And here I must tell you a great and needful truth, which Christians, +fearing to confess, by overdoing, tempt men to infidelity. The Scripture +is like a man's body, where some parts are but for the preservation of +the rest, and may be maimed without death. The sense is the soul of the +Scripture, and the letters but the body or vehicle. The doctrine of the +Creed, Lord's Prayer and Decalogue, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, is +the vital part and Christianity itself. The Old Testament letter +(written as we have it about Ezra's time) is that vehicle which is as +imperfect as the revelation of those times was. But as, after Christ's +incarnation and ascension, the Spirit was more abundantly given, and the +revelation more perfect and sealed, so the doctrine is more full, and +the vehicle or body, that is the words, are less imperfect and more sure +to us; so that he which doubteth of the truth of some words in the Old +Testament or of some circumstances in the New, hath no reason therefore +to doubt of the Christian religion of which these writings are but the +vehicle or body, sufficient to ascertain us of the truth of the History +and Doctrine." [Footnote: _The Catechizing of Christian Families_, +p. 36.] + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +HOW THE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN. + + + +The books of the Old Testament were originally written upon skins of +some sort. The Talmud provided that the law might be inscribed on the +skins of clean animals, tame or wild, or even of clean birds. These +skins were usually cut into strips, the ends of which were neatly joined +together, making a continuous belt of parchment or vellum which was +rolled upon two sticks and fastened by a thread. They were commonly +written on one side only, with an iron pen which was dipped in ink +composed of lampblack dissolved in gall juice. + +The Hebrew is a language quite unlike our own in form and appearance. +Not only do we read it from right to left, instead of from left to +right, but the consonants only of the several words are written in +distinct characters on the line; the vowels being little dots or dashes +standing under the consonants, or within their curves. These vowel +points were not used in the original Hebrew; they are a modern invention, +originating some centuries after Christ. It is true that it was the +belief of the Jews in former times that these vowel points were an +original part of the language; their scholars made this claim with great +confidence, which shows how little reliance is to be placed on Jewish +tradition. The evidence is abundant that the Hebrew was originally +written without vowels, precisely as stenographers often write in these +days. We know from the testimony of old students and interpreters of the +Hebrew that they constantly encountered this difficulty in reading the +language. Write a paragraph of our own language without vowels and look +at it. Or, better, ask some one else to treat for you in the same way a +paragraph with which you are not familiar, and see if you can decipher +it. Undoubtedly, you could with some difficulty make out the sense of +most passages. It would puzzle you at first, but after you had had some +practice in supplying the vowels you would learn to read quite readily. +Stenographers, as I have said, have a somewhat similar task. +Nevertheless, you would sometimes be in uncertainty as to the words. +Suppose you have the three consonants _brd_, how would you know +whether the word was bard, or bird, or bread, or board, or brad, or +broad, or bride, or braid, or brood, or breed? It might be any one of +them. You could usually tell what it was by a glance at the connection, +but you could not tell infallibly, for there might be sentences in which +more than one of these words would make sense, and it would be +impossible to determine which the writer meant to use. Now the old +Hebrew as it came from the hands of the original writers was all in this +form; while, therefore, the meaning of the writer can generally be +gained with sufficient accuracy, you see at a glance that absolute +certainty is out of the question; that the Jewish scholars who supplied +these vowel points a thousand years or more after the original +manuscripts were written may sometimes have got the wrong word. + +Jerome gives numerous illustrations of this uncertainty. In Jer. ix. 21, +"Death is come up into our windows," he says that we have for the first +word the three Hebrew consonants corresponding to our _dbr_; the +word may be _dabar_, signifying death, or _deber_, signifying +pestilence; it is impossible to tell which it is. In Habakkuk iii. 5, we +have the same consonants, and there the word is written pestilence. +Either word will made good sense in either place; and we are perfectly +helpless in our choice between them. Again, in Isaiah xxvi. 14, we have +a prediction concerning the wicked, "Therefore hast thou visited and +destroyed them and made all their memory to perish." The Hebrew word +here translated "memory" consists of three consonants represented by our +English _zkr_; it may be the word _zeker_, which signifies memory, +or the word _zakar_, which signifies a male person. And Jerome says +that it is believed that Saul was deceived, perhaps willingly, by the +difference in these words (I Sam. xv.); having been commanded to cut +off every _zeker_--memorial or vestige--of Amaiek, he took the word +to be _zakar_, instead of zeker, and contented himself with +destroying the males of the army and keeping for himself the spoil. +Jerome's conjecture in this case is sufficiently fanciful; nevertheless +he illustrates the impossibility of determining the exact meaning of many +Hebrew sentences. This impossibility is abundantly demonstrated by the +Septuagint, for we find many undoubted errors in that translation from +the Hebrew into the Greek, which have arisen from this lack of precision +in the Hebrew language. + +When, therefore, we know that the Bible was written in such a language-- +a language without vowels--and that it was not until six hundred years +after Christ that the vowel points were invented and the words were +written out in full, the theory of the verbal inerrancy of the text as +we now have it becomes incredible. Unless the men who supplied the vowel +points were gifted with supernatural knowledge they must have made +mistakes in spelling out some of these words. I do not believe that +these mistakes were serious, or that they affect in any important way +the meaning of the Scripture, but the assumption that in this stupendous +game of guess-work no wrong guesses were made is in the highest degree +gratuitous. The substantial truthfulness of the record is not impeached +by this discovery, but the verbal inerrancy of the document can never be +maintained by any honest man who knows these facts. + +It is unsafe and mischievous to indulge in _a priori_ reasonings +about inspiration; we have had too much of that; but the following +proposition is unassailable: If the Divine Wisdom had proposed to +deliver to man an infallible book, he would not have had it recorded in +a language whose written words consist only of consonants, leaving +readers a thousand years after to fill in the vowels by conjecture. The +very fact that such a language was chosen is the conclusive and +unanswerable evidence that God never designed to give us an infallible +book. + +We are familiar with the fact that the Old Testament writings in general +use among the early churches were those of the Septuagint. The +Christians from the second to the sixteenth centuries knew very little +Hebrew. But during all these ages the Palestinian Jews and their +successors in other lands were preserving their own Scriptures; it was +they who added at a late day--probably as late as the sixth century--the +vowel points, which were invented in Syria; and when, at length, under +the impulse of Biblical study which led to the Reformation, Christian +scholars began to think of going back to the original Hebrew, they were +obliged to obtain from the Jews the copies which they studied. It is +somewhat remarkable that the Jews, who were the exclusive custodians of +the Hebrew writings up to the sixteenth century, had not been careful to +preserve their old manuscripts. After the vowel points had been +introduced into the text, they seem to have been willing that copies not +written in this manner should pass out of existence. Accordingly we have +few Hebrew manuscripts that are even supposed to be more than six or +seven hundred years old. There is one copy of the Pentateuch which may +have been made as early as 580 A. D., but this is extremely doubtful; +aside from this I do not know that there are any Hebrew Bibles which +claim to be older than the ninth century. Of these Hebrew manuscripts +nearly six hundred are now known to be in existence, but the greater +part of these are only fragmentary copies of the Pentateuch or of single +books. There are two classes of these--synagogue rolls, prepared for +reading in the way that I have described, and manuscripts in the book +form, some on parchment and some on paper. + +The variations in these manuscripts are few. Compared with the Greek +manuscripts of the New Testament, the accuracy of these Hebrew codices +is remarkable. It is evident that the care of the Scribes to guard their +Scriptures against error has been scrupulous and vigilant. Doubtless +this intense devotion to the very letter of the sacred books has been +exercised for many centuries. We know that in the earliest days this +precision was not sought; for the Septuagint translation, made during +the second and third centuries before Christ, gives us indubitable +proof, when we compare it with the Hebrew text, that changes, some of +them radical and sweeping, have been made in the text of the Hebrew +books since that translation was finished. But it is evident that the +Scribes at an early day, certainly as early as the beginning of the +Christian era, determined to have a uniform and an unchangeable text. +For this purpose they chose some manuscript copy of the Scriptures, +doubtless the one which seemed to them most accurate, and made that the +standard; all the copies made since that time have been religiously +conformed to that. Consequently, all the Hebrew manuscripts now in +existence are remarkably uniform. The Old Testament contains more than +three times as many pages as the New Testament; but while we have more +than one hundred and fifty thousand "various readings" in the Greek +manuscripts and versions of the New Testament, we have less than ten +thousand such variations in those of the Old Testament. It must be +remembered, however, that this uniformity has its source in some copy +chosen to be the standard hundreds of years after most of the Old +Testament books were written; and it does not guarantee the close +correspondence between this copy and the autographs of the original +writers. [Footnote: For an interesting discussion of the preservation +and transmission of the Hebrew text, the reader is referred to Mr. +Robertson Smith's _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_, +Lectures ii. and iii.] + +Our chief interest centres, however, in the Greek manuscripts of the +Bible preserved and transmitted by Christians, and including both +Testaments. All the oldest and most precious documents that we possess +belong to this class. + +The original New Testament writings which came from the hands of the +apostles and their amanuenses we do not possess. These were probably +written, not on skins, but upon the papyrus paper commonly used at that +day, which was a frail and flimsy fabric, and under ordinary +circumstances would soon perish. Fragments of this papyrus have come +down to us, but only those which were preserved with exceptional care. +Jerome tells us of a library in Cassarea that was partly destroyed, +owing to the crumbling of its paper, though it was only a hundred years +old. Parchment was sometimes used by the apostles; Paul requests +Timothy, in his second letter, to bring with him, when he comes, certain +parchments that belong to him. But these materials were costly, and it +is not likely that the apostles used them to any extent in the +preparation of the books of the New Testament. At any rate the +autographic copies of these books disappeared at an early date. This +seems strange to us. Placing the estimate that we do upon these +writings, we should have taken the greatest care to preserve them. It is +clear that the Christians into whose hands they fell did not value them +as highly as we do. As Westcott says, "They were given as a heritage to +man, and it was some time before men felt the full value of the gift." + +At the close of the second century there were disputes concerning the +correct reading of certain passages, but neither party appeals to the +apostolic originals,--showing that they must before that time have +perished. In after years legends were told about the preservation of +these originals, but these are contradictory and incredible. + +No manuscript is now in existence which was written during the first +three centuries. But we have one or two that date back to the fourth +century; and from that time through all the ages to the invention of +printing many copies were made of the Sacred Scriptures, in whole or in +part, which are still in the hands of scholars. It is from these old +Greek manuscripts that our received text of the New Testament is +derived; by a comparison of them the scholars of the seventeenth century +made up a Greek New Testament which they regarded as approximately +accurate, and from that our English version was made. + +The number of these old manuscripts is large, and the first general +division of them is into "uncials" or "cursives," as they are called; +the uncial manuscripts being written in capital letters, the cursives in +small letters more or less connected, as in our written hand. The +uncials are the oldest, as they are the fewest; there are only one +hundred and twenty-seven of them in all; while of the cursives there are +about fifteen hundred. + +Yet most of these manuscripts are fragmentary. Some of them contain only +the Gospels or portions of them; some of them contain the Acts and the +Catholic Epistles; some of them the Epistles of Paul or a single +epistle; some are selections from the Gospels or the Epistles, prepared +to be read in church, and called lectionaries. + +Professor Ezra Abbot gives us a classification of these manuscripts +which will be found instructive. + +"For the New Testament,...we have manuscripts more or less complete, +written in uncial or capital letters, and ranging from the fourth to the +tenth century; of the Gospels twenty-seven, besides thirty small +fragments; of the Acts and Catholic Epistles ten, besides six small +fragments; of the Pauline Epistles eleven, besides nine small fragments, +and of the Revelation five. All of these have been most thoroughly +collated, and the text of the most important of them has been published. +One of these manuscripts, the Sinaitic, containing the whole of the New +Testament, and another, the Vatican, containing much the larger part of +it, were written probably as early as the middle of the fourth century; +two others, the Alexandrian and the Ephraem, belong to about the middle +of the fifth, of which date are two more, containing considerable +portions of the Gospels. A very remarkable manuscript of the Gospels and +Acts--the Cambridge manuscript, or Codex Bezae--belongs to the sixth +century.... I pass by a number of small but valuable fragments of the +fifth and sixth centuries. As to the cursive manuscripts ranging from +the tenth century to the sixteenth, we have of the Gospels more than six +hundred; of the Acts over two hundred; of the Pauline Epistles nearly +three hundred; of the Revelation about one hundred,--not reckoning the +lectionaries, or manuscripts containing the lessons from the Gospels, +Acts, and Epistles, read in the service of the church, of which there +are more than four hundred." [Footnote: _Anglo-American Bible +Revision_, p. 95.] + +Out of all this vast mass of extant manuscripts, only twenty-seven +contain the New Testament entire. + +The three oldest and most valuable manuscripts among those named by +Professor Abbot, in the passage above, are the Sinaitic, the Vatican, +and the Alexandrian manuscripts. + +Of these old Bibles perhaps the oldest is the one in the Vatican Library +at Rome. It was enrolled in that library as late as the year 1475; what +its history was before that time is unknown. By whose hands or at what +place it was written, no one can tell. Some have supposed that it was +brought from Constantinople to Rome, in the fifteenth century, by John +Bessarion, a learned patriarch; some that it was written in Alexandria, +when that city was the metropolis of the world's culture; some that it +was produced in Southern Italy when that region was celebrated for its +learning. The signs favor the latter theory. The form of the letters is +like those found on papyri in Herculaneum; and other manuscripts of the +Bible found in southern Italy agree remarkably with this one in many +peculiar readings. But this is all guess-work. Nobody knows where the +old Bible came from or who brought it to Rome. + +Some things, however, the old book plainly tells us about its own +history. It bears the unmistakable marks of great antiquity. The scholar +who is familiar with old Greek manuscripts can judge by looking at a +document something about its probable age. By the form of the letters, +by the presence or absence of certain marks of punctuation, by the +general style of the manuscript, he can determine within a century or so +the date at which it was written. + +This old Bible is written in the uncial or capital letters; this would +make it tolerably certain that it must be older than the tenth century. +We have scarcely any uncial manuscripts later than the tenth century. +But other unmistakable marks take it back much farther than this. The +words are written continuously, with no breaks or spaces between them; +there are no accents, no rough or smooth breathings, no punctuation +marks of any sort. These are signs of great age. Another peculiarity is +the manner of the division of the books into sections. I cannot stop to +describe to you the various methods of division adopted in antiquity. +The present separation into chapters and verses was, as you know, a +quite modern device. But the divisions of this old Bible follow a method +that we know to have been in use at a very early day; and the conclusion +of all the scholars is that it must have been written as early as the +year 350, possibly as early as 300. + +It is not, however, a roll, but a book in form like those we handle +every day. Before this date manuscripts were generally prepared in this +way. Martial, the Latin poet, who died about 100, mentions as a novelty +in his day books with square leaves, bound together at the edges. + +The Vatican Bible is a heavy quarto, the covers are red morocco +discolored with age, the leaves, of which there are 759, are of fine and +delicate vellum. It contains the Septuagint translation of the Old +Testament, except the first forty-five chapters in Genesis and a few of +the Psalms, which have been torn out and lost. Of the New Testament +writings, the last five chapters of Hebrews, First and Second Timothy, +Titus, Philemon, and the Apocalypse are wanting. Otherwise both +Testaments are complete. + +We may recall another fact, to which allusion has been made, that this +old Bible contains among the Old Testament books those books which we +now call apocryphal, and that these apocryphal books, instead of being +divided from the rest in a separate group, are mingled with them, the +_order_ of the books being quite unlike that of our Bibles or of +the Hebrew canon. The apocryphal First Book of Esdras _precedes_ +our Book of Ezra; while our Book of Ezra is united with Nehemiah, +forming the Second Book of Esdras. Judith and Tobit follow Esther, and +next comes the twelve minor prophets, and so on. + +The same thing is true of all these oldest Bibles; they all contain the +apocryphal books, and these books are mingled with the other books, +either promiscuously, or by some system of classification which accepts +them as equal in value with the other Old Testament writings. There is +no indication in these old Bibles that the apocryphal books are any less +sacred or authoritative than the others. + +Another manuscript Bible, scarcely less venerable and no less precious +than the Vatican Bible, is the one known as the Sinaitic manuscript This +was discovered by Constantine Tischendorf, a German scholar, in an +ancient convent at the base of Mount Sinai. The first journey of +Tischendorf to the Sinaitic peninsula was undertaken in 1844, for the +express purpose of searching in the old monasteries of this neighborhood +for ancient copies of the Scriptures that might be preserved in them. +The monks of this old convent admitted him to their ancient library,--a +place not greatly frequented by them,--and there in the middle of the +room he found a waste basket, filled with leaves and torn pieces of old +parchment gathered to be burned. In looking them over he discovered one +hundred and twenty leaves of a Bible that seemed to him of great +antiquity. He asked for these leaves, but when they found that he wanted +them, the monks began to suspect their value, and permitted him to take +only forty-three of them. In 1853 he returned again, but this time could +not find the rest of the precious manuscript. He feared that it had been +destroyed long before, but this was not the case. Stimulated by his +desire to possess the loose leaves, the monks had made search for the +rest of the volume, and, using as samples the leaves they had refused to +give him, they had found them all and secreted them. Upon his second +visit they did not show him the book, however, nor reveal to him in any +way its existence. + +Six years later, in 1859, he returned again, this time fortified with a +letter from the Emperor of Russia, the head of the Greek Church; and +this mighty document made the monks open their treasures for his +inspection. He obtained permission, first, to carry the old Bible to +Cairo to be copied, and finally, under the imperial influence, the monks +surrendered it, and suffered it to be removed to St. Petersburg, where +since 1859 it has been sacredly kept. + +"The Sinai Bible," says Dr. F. P. Woodbury, "contains the New Testament, +the Epistle of Barnabas, a portion of the Shepherd of Hennas, and +twenty-two books of the Old Testament. The whole is written on fine +vellum made from antelope skins into the largest pages known in our +ancient manuscripts. While most of the oldest manuscripts have only +three columns to the page, and the Vatican Bible has three, the Sinai +Bible alone shows four. The letters are somewhat larger than those of +the Vatican and much more roughly written. The book contains many +blunders in copying, and there are a few cases of willful omission. Its +remote age is attested by many of the same proofs that have been +mentioned in the description of the Vatican Bible." [Footnote: From an +interesting sketch of "Three Old Bibles," in _Sunday Afternoon_, +vol. i pp. 65-71.] + +It is known that the Emperor Constantine, in the year 331, authorized +the preparation of fifty costly and beautiful copies of the Holy +Scriptures under the care of Eusebius of Caesarea. Tischendorf himself +thinks--and his conjecture is accepted by other scholars--that this is +one of those fifty Bibles, and that it was sent from Byzantium to the +monks of this convent by the Emperor Justinian, who was its founder. At +all events, it is incontestably a manuscript of great age, certainly of +the fourth century, and probably of the first half of that century. + +The other great Bible is the one known as the Alexandrian, which was +presented, in 1628, to King Charles I of England by Cyril Lucar, +patriarch of Constantinople, who had brought it from Alexandria. It was +transferred in 1753 from the king's private library to the British +Museum, where it is now preserved. It is bound in four folio volumes, +three of which contain the text of the Old and one of the New Testament. +The portion which contains the Old Testament is more perfect than that +which contains the New, quite a number of leaves having been lost from +the latter. "The material of which this volume is composed is thin +vellum, the page being about thirteen inches high by ten broad, +containing from fifty to fifty-two lines on each page, each line +consisting of about twenty letters. The number of pages is 773, of which +640 are occupied with the text of the Old Testament and 133 with the +New. The characters are uncial, but larger than the Vatican manuscript. +There are no accents or breathings, no spaces between the letters or +words save at the end of a paragraph, and the contractions, which are +not numerous, are only such as are found in the oldest manuscripts. The +punctuation consists of a point placed at the end of a sentence, usually +on a level with the top of the preceding letter." [Footnote: _Encyc. +Brit._, i. p. 496.] The general verdict of scholars is that this +manuscript belongs to about the middle of the fifth century. + +The contents of this old Bible are curious, and they are curiously +arranged. The first volume contains the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, +Ruth, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, and the two books +of Chronicles. The second contains, first, the twelve minor prophets +(from Hosea to Malachi), then Isaiah, Jeremiah, _Baruch_, Lamentations, +_The Epistle of Jeremiah_, Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, _Tobit_, _Judith_, +_Esdras I._ (the apocryphal Esdras), Esdras II. (including our +Nehemiah and part of our Ezra), and _the four books of the Maccabees_. +The third volume contains An Epistle of Athanasius to Marcellenus on +the Psalms; The Hypothesis of Eusebius on the Psalms; then the Book of +the Psalms, of which there are one hundred and fifty-one, and fifteen +Hymns; then Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Wisdom of Solomon, +and Ecclesiasticus, or Sirach. The fourth volume contains the four +Gospels, the Acts, the seven Catholic Epistles (one of James, two of +Peter, three of John, and one of Jude), fourteen Epistles of Paul +(including the one to the Hebrews), The Revelation of John, two Epistles +of Clement to the Corinthians, and eight Psalms of Solomon. + +This, it will be admitted, is a generous Bible. It contains most of the +apocryphal books, and several others that we do not find in the other +collections. It is probable that the works of Athanasius and Eusebius on +the Psalms were admitted rather as introduction or commentary than as +text; but the rest, judging from the positions in which they stand, must +have been regarded as Sacred Scriptures. + +These, then, are the three oldest, most complete, and most trustworthy +copies of the Sacred Scriptures now in existence. By all scholars they +are regarded as precious beyond price; and any reading in which they +agree would probably be regarded as the right reading, if all the other +manuscripts in the world were against them. + +I have suggested that these old manuscripts do not always agree. The +fact is that no two of them are exactly alike, and that there are a +great many slight differences between those which are most closely +assimilated. Of these differences Professor Westcott says that "there +cannot be less than 120,000,--though of these a very large proportion +consists of differences of spelling and isolated aberrations of +scribes." It is not generally difficult for the student on comparing +them to tell which is the right reading. A word may be misspelled, for +example, in several different ways; the student knows the right way to +spell it, and is not in doubt concerning the word. "Probably," says Mr. +Westcott, "there are not more than from sixteen hundred to two thousand +places in which the true reading is a matter of uncertainty, even if we +include in this questions of order, inflection, and orthography; the +doubtful readings by which the sense is in any way affected are very +much fewer, and those of dogmatic importance can be easily numbered." + +The ways in which these errors and variations arose are easily +explained. The men who copied these manuscripts were careful men, many +of them, but all of them were fallible. Sometimes they would mistake a +letter for another letter much like it, and change the form of a word in +that way; sometimes there would be two clauses of a sentence ending with +the same word, and the eye of the copyist, glancing back to the +manuscript after writing the first of these words, would alight upon the +second one, and go on from that; so that the clause preceding it would +be omitted. Sometimes in copying the continuous writing of the uncial +manuscripts, mistakes would be made in dividing words. For example, if a +number of English words, written in close order, with no spaces between +them, were given you to copy, and you found "infancy," you might make +two words of it or one; and if you were a little careless you might +write it "in fancy" when it should be "infancy," or _vice versa_. A +case might arise in which it would be difficult for you to tell whether +it should be "in fancy" or "infancy." Such uncertainties the copyists +encountered, and such mistakes they sometimes made. + +Mistakes of memory they also made in copying, just as I sometimes do +when I undertake to copy a passage from Mr. Westcott or Mr. Davidson +into one of these chapters. I look upon the book, and take a sentence in +my mind, but perhaps while I am writing it down I will change slightly +the order of the words, or it may be put a word of my own in the place +of another that much resembles it, as "but" for "though," or "from" for +"out of," or "doubtless" for "without doubt." I try to copy very +exactly, but there are, unquestionably, now and then such slips as these +in my quotations. And such mistakes were made by the copyists of the Old +Scriptures. + +There are some instances of intentional changes. Sometimes a copyist +evidently substituted a word that he thought was plainer for one that +was more obscure; a more elegant word for one less elegant; a +grammatical construction for one that was not grammatical. + +Other differences have arisen from the habit of some of the copyists or +owners of manuscripts of writing glosses, or brief explanatory notes, on +the margin. Some of these marginalia were copied by subsequent scribes +into the text, where, in our version, they still remain. Some of them, +however, were removed in the late revision. + +The great majority of these errors are, however, as I have said, +extremely unimportant; and nearly all of them seem to have arisen in the +ways I have suggested--through simple carelessness, and not with any +intent of corrupting the text. + +The translations of the Bible which were made in early days into other +languages than our own must be dismissed with the briefest mention. The +most important version of the Old Testament was the Septuagint, of which +nothing more needs to be said. + +You will remember that the Hebrew was a dead language while our Lord was +on the earth, the Jews of Palestine speaking the Aramaic. For their use, +translations of the Hebrew into the Aramaic, called Targums, were made. +There is a great variety of these, and there are many opinions about +their age; but it is not likely that the oldest of them was committed to +writing before the second century A. D. They are curious specimens of +the translator's work, combining text and commentary in a remarkable +manner. Additions and changes are freely made; the simple sentences of +the old record are greatly expanded; not only is a spade generally +called a useful ligneous and ferruginous agricultural implement, but +many things are said concerning the aforesaid spade which Moses or David +or Isaiah never dreamed of saying. + +For example, in Judges v. 10, the Hebrew is literally translated in our +English Bible thus: "Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in +judgment and walk by the way." The Targum of Jonathan expatiates thereon +as follows: "Those who had interrupted their occupations are riding on +asses covered with many colored caparisons, and they ride about freely +in all the territory of Israel, and congregate to sit in judgment. They +walk in their old ways, and are speaking of the power Thou hast shown in +the land of Israel," etc. This may be pronounced a remarkably free +translation; and the Targums generally evince a similar liberality of +sentiment and phraseology. + +Besides these, the ancient translations of the Bible, which must be +mentioned, are the Old Latin, made in the second century, out of which, +by many revisions, grew that Latin Vulgate which is now used in the +Catholic ritual; an ancient Syriac version of about the same age; two +Egyptian versions, in different dialects, made in the third century; the +Peshito-Syriac, the Gothic, and the Ethiopic in the fourth, and the +Armenian in the fifth; besides several later translations, including the +Arabic and the Slavonic. These ancient translations are all of value to +modern scholars in helping them to reach more certain conclusions +respecting the nature of the Sacred Scriptures and the right reading in +disputed passages. + +The ages which we have been traversing in this chapter--when the Bible +was a manuscript--were ages of great darkness. The copies of the book +were few, and the common people could neither possess them nor read +them. It is hard for us who have had the book in our hands from our +infancy, who have gone to it so freely for light in darkness, for +comfort in sorrow, for wisdom to work with, for weapons to fight with, +to understand how men could have lived the life of faith without it; how +a godly seed could have been nourished in the earth without the sincere +milk of the word for them to feed on. + +It was indeed a great privation that they suffered, but we must not +suppose that they were left without witness. For there is another and +even a clearer revelation than the written word, and that is a godly +life. Godly lives there were in all these dark times; and it was at +their fires that the torch of gospel truth was kindled and kept burning. +There may be reason for a question whether we have not come to trust in +these times too much in a word that is written, and to undervalue that +other revelation which God is making of his truth and love in the +characters of his children. For it is only in the light that Christ is +constantly manifesting to the world in the lives of men that we can see +any meaning in the words of the book. "The Christian," says Dr. +Christlieb, "is the world's Bible." This is the word that is known and +read of men. Let it be our care to make it, not an infallible, but a +clear, an adequate, and a safe revelation of the truth and love of God +to men. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +HOW MUCH IS THE BIBLE WORTH? + + + +Of the Bible as a book among books, of the human elements which enter +into its composition, some account has been given in the preceding +chapters. But in these studies the whole story of the Bible has not been +told. There is need, therefore, that we should enlarge our view +somewhat, and take more directly into account certain elements with +which we have not hitherto been chiefly concerned. + +Our study has, indeed, made a few things plain. Among them is the +certainty that the Bible is not an infallible Book, in the sense in +which it is popularly supposed to be infallible. When we study the +history of the several books, the history of the canon, the history of +the distribution and reproduction of the manuscript copies, and the +history of the versions,--when we discover that the "various readings" +of the differing manuscripts amount to one hundred and fifty thousand, +the impossibility of maintaining the verbal inerrancy of the Bible +becomes evident. We see how human ignorance and error have been suffered +to mingle with this stream of living water throughout all its course; if +our assurance of salvation were made to depend upon our knowledge that +every word of the Bible was of divine origin, our hopes of eternal life +would be altogether insecure. + +The book is not infallible historically. It is a veracious record; we +may depend upon the truthfulness of the outline which it gives us of the +history of the Jewish people; but the discrepancies and contradictions +which appear here and there upon its pages show that its writers were +not miraculously protected from mistakes in dates and numbers and the +order of events. + +It is not infallible scientifically. It is idle to try to force the +narrative of Genesis into an exact correspondence with geological +science. It is a hymn of creation, wonderfully beautiful and pure; the +central truths of monotheistic religion and of modern science are +involved in it; but it is not intended to give us the scientific history +of creation, and the attempt to make it bear this construction is highly +injudicious. + +It is not infallible morally. By this I mean that portions of this +revelation involve an imperfect morality. Many things are here commanded +which it would be wrong for us to do. This is not saying that these +commands were not divinely wise for the people to whom they were given; +nor is it denying that the morality of the New Testament, which is the +fulfillment and consummation of the moral progress which the book +records, is a perfect morality; it is simply asserting that the stages +of this progress from a lower to a higher morality are here clearly +marked; that the standards of the earlier time are therefore inadequate +and misleading in these later times; and that any man who accepts the +Bible as a code of moral rules, all of which are equally binding, will +be led into the gravest errors. It is no more true that the ceremonial +legislation of the Old Testament is obsolete than that large portions of +the moral legislation are obsolete. The notions of the writers of these +books concerning their duties to God were dim and imperfect; so were +their notions concerning their duties to man. All the truth that they +could receive was given to them; but there were many truths which they +could not receive, which to us are as plain as the daylight. + +Not to recognize the partialness and imperfection of this record in all +these respects is to be guilty of a grave disloyalty to the kingdom of +the truth. With all these facts staring him in the face, the attempt of +any intelligent man to maintain the theoretical and ideal infallibility +of all parts of these writings is a criminal blunder. Nor is there any +use in loudly asserting the inerrancy of these books, with vehement +denunciations of all who call it in question, and then in a breath +admitting that there may be some errors and discrepancies and +interpolations. Perfection is perfection. To stoutly affirm that a thing +is perfect, and then admit that it may be in some respects imperfect, is +an insensate procedure. Infallibility is infallibility. The Scriptures +are, or they are not, infallible. The admission that there may be a few +errors gives every man the right, nay it lays upon him the duty, of +finding what those errors are. Our friends who so sturdily assert the +traditional theory can hardly be aware of the extent to which they +stultify themselves when their sweeping and reiterated assertion that +the Bible can _never_ contain a mistake is followed, as it always +must be, by their timid and deprecatory, "hardly ever." The old +rabbinical theory, as adopted and extended by some of the post- +Reformation theologians, that the Bible was verbally dictated by God and +is absolutely accurate in every word, letter, and vowel-point, and that +it is therefore blasphemy to raise a question concerning any part of it, +is a consistent theory. Between this and a free but reverent inquiry +into the Bible itself, to discover what human elements it contains and +how it is affected by them, there is no middle ground. That it is +useless and mischievous to make for the Bible claims that it nowhere +makes for itself,--to hold and teach a theory concerning it which at +once breaks down when an intelligent man begins to study it with open +mind--is beginning to be very plain. The quibbling, the concealment, the +disingenuousness which this method of using the Bible involves are not +conducive to Christian integrity. This kind of "lying for God" has +driven hundreds of thousands already into irreconcilable alienation from +the Christian church. It is time to stop it. + +How did this theory of the infallibility of the Bible arise? Those who +have followed these discussions to this point know that it has not +always been held by the Christian church. The history of the canon, told +with any measure of truthfulness, will make this plain. The history of +the variations between the Septuagint and the Hebrew shows, beyond the +shadow of a doubt, that this theory of the unchangeable and absolute +divinity of the words of the Scripture had no practical hold upon +transcribers and copyists in the early Jewish church. The New Testament +writers could not have consistently held such a theory respecting the +Old Testament books, else they would not have quoted them, as they did, +with small care for verbal accuracy. They believed them to be +substantially true, and therefore they give the substance of them in +their quotations; but there is no such slavish attention to the letter +as there must have been if they had regarded them as verbally dictated +by God himself. The Christian Fathers were inclined, no doubt, to accept +the rabbinical theories of inspiration respecting the Old Testament; but +they sometimes avoid the difficulties growing out of manifest errors in +the text by a theory of an inner sense which is faultless, frankly +admitting that the natural meaning cannot always be defended. As to the +early Reformers, we have seen how freely they handled the Sacred +Writings, submitting them to a scrutiny which they would not have +ventured upon if they had believed concerning them what we have been +taught. It was not until the period succeeding the Reformation that this +dogma of Biblical Infallibility was clearly formulated and imposed upon +the Protestant churches. As taught by Quenstedt and Voetius and +Calovius, the dogma asserts that "not only the substance of truth and +the views proposed in their minutest detail, but even the identical +words, all and in particular, were supplied and dictated by the Holy +Ghost. Not a word is contained in the Holy Scriptures which is not in +the strictest sense inspired, the very interpunctuation not excepted.... +Errors of any sort whatever, even verbal or grammatical, as well as all +inelegancies of style, are to be denied as unworthy of the Divine Spirit +who is throughout the primary author of the Bible." [Footnote: _The +Doctrine of Sacred Scripture_, ii. p. 209.] This view was long +maintained with all strictness, and many a man has been made a heretic +for denying it. Within the last century the form of the doctrine has +been somewhat modified by theologians, yet the substance of it is still +regarded as essential orthodoxy. Dr. Charles Hodge, in his "Theology," +vol. i. p. 152, says, "Protestants hold that the Scriptures of the Old +and New Testaments are the word of God, written under the inspiration of +God the Holy Ghost, and are therefore infallible, and consequently free +from all error, whether of doctrine, of fact, or of precept." And again +(p. 163), "All the books of Scripture are equally inspired. All alike +are infallible in what they teach." Such is the doctrine now held by the +great majority of Christians. Intelligent pastors do not hold it, but +the body of the laity have no other conception. + +Whence is it derived? Where do the teachers quoted above get their +authority for their affirmations? + +Not, as we have seen, from any statements of the Bible itself. There is +not one word in the Bible which affirms or implies that this character +of inerrancy attaches to the entire collection of writings, or to any +one of them. + +The doctrine arose, as I have said, in the seventeenth century, and it +was in part, no doubt, a reflection of the teaching of the later +rabbins, whose fantastic notions about the origin of their sacred books +I have before alluded to. It was also developed, as a polemical +necessity, in the exigencies of that conflict with the Roman Catholic +theologians which followed the Reformation. The eminent German scholar +and saint, Professor Tholuck, gives the following account of its origin: + +"In proportion as controversy, sharpened by Jesuitism, made the +Protestant party sensible of an externally fortified ground of combat, +in that same proportion did Protestantism seek, by the exaltation of the +outward authoritative character of the Sacred Writings, to recover that +infallible authority which it had lost through its rejection of +infallible councils and the infallible authority of the Pope. In this +manner arose, _not earlier than the seventeenth century_, those +sentiments which regarded the Holy Scripture as the infallible +production of the Divine Spirit--in its entire contents and its very +form--so that not only the sense but also the words, the letters, the +Hebrew vowel points, and the very punctuation were regarded as +proceeding from the Spirit of God." [Footnote: _Theological +Essays_, collected by George R. Noyes.] The fact that the doctrine +had this origin is itself suspicious. A theory which is framed in the +heat of a great controversy, by one party in the church, is apt to be +somewhat extreme. + +The strength of the doctrine lies, however, in the fact that it is a +theological inference from the doctrine of God. "God is the author of +the Bible," men have said; "God is omniscient; he can make no mistakes; +therefore the Book must be infallible. To deny that it is infallible is +to deny that it is God's book; if it is not his book it is worthless." +Or, putting it in another form, they have said, "The Bible is an +inspired book. God is the source of inspiration. He cannot inspire men +to write error. Therefore every word of the inspired book must be true." +This is what the logicians call an _a priori_ argument. The view of +what inspiration is, and of what the Bible is, are deduced from our +theory of God. It amounts to just this: If God is what we think him to +be, he must do what seems wise to us. This is hardly a safe argument. +Doubtless we would have said beforehand that if God, who is all-wise and +all-powerful, should create a world, he would make one free from +suffering and every form of evil. We find, however, that he has not made +such a world. And it may be wiser for us, instead of making up our minds +beforehand what God must do, to try and find out what he has done. It +might seem to us, doubtless, that if he has given us a revelation, it +must be a faultless revelation. But has he? That is the question. We can +only know by studying the revelation itself. We have no right to +determine beforehand what it must be. We might have said with equal +confidence, that if God wished to have his truth taught in the world, he +would certainly send infallible teachers. He has not done so. The +treasure of his truth is in earthen vessels, to-day. Has it not always +been so? + +The trouble in this whole matter arises from the fact that men have made +up their theories of the Bible out of their ideas about God, and have +then gone to work to fit the facts of the Bible to their preconceived +theories. This has required a great deal of stretching and twisting and +lopping off here and there; the truth has been badly distorted, +sometimes mutilated. The changed view of the Bible, which greatly alarms +some good people, arises from the fact that certain honest men have +determined to go directly to the Bible itself and find out by studying +it what manner of book it is. They have discovered that it is not +precisely such a book as it has been believed to be, and the answer that +they make to those who hold the old theory about it is simply this: "We +cannot believe what you have told us about the Bible, because the Bible +contradicts you. It is because we believe the Bible itself that we +reject your theory. We believe that the Bible is an inspired book, nay, +that it is by eminence The Inspired Book; but when you ask us 'What is +an inspired book?' instead of making up a definition of inspiration out +of our own heads, we only say, 'It is such a book as the Bible is,' and +then we proceed to frame our definition of inspiration by the study of +the Bible. Therefore, when you say that inspiration must imply +infallibility, we answer, No; it does not; for here is The Inspired Book +and it is not infallible." + +In what sense the book is inspired we may be able, after a little, to +see more clearly. For the present I only desire to point out the sources +of the traditional doctrine of the Bible, and the sources of the new +doctrine. The one is the result of the speculations of men about what +the Bible must be; the other is the result of a careful and reverent +study of the Bible itself. + +What, then, do we find the Bible to be? + +I. It is the book of righteousness. No other book in the world fixes our +thoughts so steadily upon the great interest of character. Whatever else +the Bible may show us or may fail to show us, it does keep always before +us the fact that the one great concern of every man is to be right in +heart and in life. Righteousness tendeth to life; righteousness is +salvation; Jehovah is He who loveth righteousness and hateth iniquity, +and in his favor is life; these are the truths which form the very +substance of this revelation. It is quite true that in the application +of this principle to the affairs of every day, the early records show us +much confusion and uncertainty; the definitions of righteousness which +sufficed for the people of that time would not suffice for us at all; +but the fact remains that the only interest of this Book in the +individuals and the races which it brings before us is in their loyalty +or disloyalty to that ideal of conduct which it always lifts up before +us. Righteousness is life; righteousness is salvation; this is the one +message of the Bible to men. There are rites and ceremonies, but these +are not the principal thing; "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to +hearken than the fat of rams." "He hath showed thee, O man, what is +good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to +love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" This great truth of the +Bible has been but imperfectly apprehended, even among modern +Christians; there is always a tendency to make the belief in sound +dogma, or the performance of decorous rites, or the experience of +emotional raptures the principal thing; but the testimony of the Bible +to the supremacy of character and conduct is clear and convincing, and +the world is coming to understand it. + +Now for any man who cares for the right, to whom character is more +precious than anything else in the world, this book is worth more than +any other book can be. Even the Old Testament narratives, indistinctly +as they reveal the real nature of true conduct to us in this day, show +us plainly the fact that nothing else in the world is to be compared +with it; and the struggles and temptations of the heroes of that old +book are full of instruction for us; their failures and follies and sins +admonish and warn us; their steadfastness and fidelity inspire and +hearten us. + +II. The Bible is the record of the development of the kingdom of +righteousness in the world. Man knows intuitively that he ought to do +right; his notion of what is right is continually being purified and +enlarged. The Bible is the record of this moral progress in the one +nation of the earth to which morality has been the great concern. We +have seen, clearly enough, the imperfection of the ethical standards to +which the early Hebrew legislation was made to conform; we have also +seen that this legislation was always a little in advance of the popular +morality, leading it on to purer conceptions and better practices. The +legislation concerning divorce, the legislation regulating blood- +vengeance, recognizes the evils with which it deals and accommodates +itself to them, but always with the purpose and the result of giving to +men a larger thought and a better standard. Laws which conformed to our +moral ideal would have been powerless to control such a semi-barbarous +people as the Hebrews were when they came out of Egypt. The higher +morality must be imparted little by little; one principle after another +must be drilled into their apprehension; they could not well be learning +more than one or two simple lessons at a time, and while they were +learning these, other coarse and cruel and savage practices of theirs +must be "winked at," as Paul says. Against any rule more strict at this +early time the Hebrews would have revolted; the divine wisdom of this +legislation is seen in this method which takes men as they are, and does +for them the thing that is feasible, patiently leading them on and up to +higher ground. If you would seize a running horse by the rein and stop +him, you had better run with him for a little. This homely parable +illustrates much of the Old Testament legislation which we find so +defective, when judged by our standards. + +It is in this larger sense that we see the signs of divinity in this old +Book. It is a book of inspiration because it is the record of an +inspired or divinely guided development; because the life it shows as +unfolding is divine; because the goal to which we see the people +steadily conducted in its vivid chapters is the goal which God has +marked for human progress; because it gives us the origin and growth of +the kingdom of God in the world. + +"Whence came," asks one, "and of what manner of spirit is this _anti- +historic_ power in Israel and the Bible? Some inner principle of +development struggles against the outward historical environment, and +will not rest until it prevails. What was it which selected Israel, and +in one narrow land, while all the surrounding country was sinking, +lifted man up in spite of himself? which along the course of one +national history carried on a progressive development of religious life +and truth, while other peoples, though taught by many wise men and +seers, and not without their truths, still can show no one connected and +progressive revelation like this?" [Footnote: _Old Faiths in New +Light_, p. 81.] + +What is the power that has wrought all this but the divine Power? If you +ask for a proof of the existence of God, I point you to the life of the +Jewish people as the Bible records it. _That history is the revelation +of God._ In the record of this nation's life, in its privileges and +its vicissitudes, its captivities and its restorations, its blessings +and its chastenings, its institutions and its laws, its teachers and its +legislators, its seers and its lawgivers, in all the forces that combine +to make up the great movement of the national life, I see God present +all the while, shaping the ends of this nation, no matter how perversely +it may rough-hew them, till at last it stands on an elevation far above +the other nations, breathing a better atmosphere, thinking worthier and +more spiritual thoughts of God, obeying a far purer moral law, holding +fast a nobler ideal of righteousness,--polytheism gradually and finally +rooted out of the national consciousness; the family established and +honored as in no other nation; woman lifted up to a dignity and purity +known nowhere else in the world; the Sabbath of rest sanctified; the +principles of the decalogue fastened in the convictions of the people, +the sure foundations laid of the kingdom of God in the world. + +We are quite too apt unduly to disparage Judaism. Doubtless the +formalism that our Lord found in it needed rebuke; its worship and its +morality were yet far away from the ideal when Jesus came to earth; +nevertheless, compared with all the peoples round about them even then-- +compared with classic Greeks and noble Romans--the ethical and spiritual +development of the Jews had reached a higher stage. It is not +extravagant to claim for this race the moral leadership of the world. +Hear Ernest Renan, no champion of orthodoxy, as you know: "I am eager, +gentlemen,"--I quote from a lecture of his on "The Share of the Semitic +People in the History of Civilization,"--"to come at the prime service +which the Semitic race has rendered to the world; its peculiar work, its +providential mission, if I may so express myself. We owe to the Semitic +race neither political life, art, poetry, philosophy, nor science. _We +owe to them religion._ The whole world--we except India, China, +Japan, and tribes altogether savage--_has adopted the Semitic +religions."_ Speaking then of the gradual decay of the various pagan +faiths of the Aryan races, Renan continues: "It is precisely at this +epoch that the civilized world finds itself face to face with the Jewish +faith. Based upon the clear and simple dogma of the divine unity, +discarding naturalism and pantheism by the marvelously terse phrase, 'In +the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,' possessing a law, +a book, the depository of grand moral precepts and of an elevated +religious poetry, Judaism had an incontestable superiority, and it might +have been foreseen then that some day the world would become Jewish, +that is to say, would forsake the old mythology for monotheism." +[Footnote: _Religious History and Criticism,_ pp. 159, 160.] + +Here is the testimony of a man who can be suspected of no undue leanings +toward the religion of the Bible, to the fact that the world is indebted +for its great thoughts of religion to the Semitic races, and chiefly to +the Hebrew race; that the religion of Judaism, brought into comparison +with the other religions, is incontestably superior. Now any man who +believes in religion and in God must believe that the people to whom +such a task was committed must have been trained by God to perform it. +The history of this nation will then be the history of this training. +That is exactly what the Old Testament is. No disputes over the nature +of inspiration must be suffered to obscure this great fact. The Old +Testament Scriptures do contain in biography and history, in statute and +story and song and sermon, the records of the life of the nation to +which God at sundry times and in divers manners was revealing himself; +which he was preparing to be the bearer of the torch of his own truth +into all the world. And now I ask whether anybody needs to be told that +these records are precious, precious above all price? Are there any +authentic portions of them that any man can afford to despise? Is not +every step in the progress of this people out of savagery into a +spiritual faith, matter of the profoundest interest to every human soul? +Even the dullness and ignorance and crudity of this people,--even the +crookedness and blindness of their leaders and teachers, are full of +instruction for us; they show us with what materials and what +instruments the divine wisdom and patience wrought out this great +result. What other book is there that can compare in value with this +book, which tells us the way of God with the people whom he chose, as +Renan declares, to teach the world religion? And when one has firmly +grasped this great fact, that the Bible contains the history of the +religious development of the Jewish people under providential care and +tuition, how little is he troubled by the small difficulties which grow +out of theories of inspiration! "We can listen," says Dr. Newman Smyth, +"with incurious complacency while small disputants discuss vehemently +the story of the ark or Jonah's strange adventure.... After all the work +of the critics, the Bible still remains, the great, sublime, enduring +work of the Eternal who loves righteousness and hates iniquity." +[Footnote: _Old Faiths in New Light_, pp. 60, 61.] + +But what have I been vindicating? The Bible? Nay, I have carefully +restricted my argument to the Old Testament. It is in behalf of the Old +Testament writings alone that I have sought to establish this exalted +claim. What I have shown you is only the pedestal on which the beauty +and strength of the Bible rests, the enduring portals which open into +the glory that excelleth. The Old Testament shows us the progressive +revelation of God to the Jewish people; the New Testament gives us the +consummation of that work, the perfect flower of that growth of +centuries. After shadows and hints and refracted lights of prophecy, +breaks at last upon the world the Light that lighteth every man! When +the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son. It was for this +that the age-long discipline of this people had been preparing them. +True, "He came to his own, and they received him not," but where else in +the world would the seed of his kingdom have found any lodgment at all? +The multitude rejected him, but there was a remnant who did receive him, +and to whom he gave power to become the sons of God. So the word of God, +that had been painfully and dimly communicated to the ancient people in +laws and ordinances and prophecies, in providential mercies and +chastenings, in lives of saints and prophets and martyrs, was now made +flesh, and dwelt among men full of grace and truth, and they beheld his +glory. + +It is here that we find the real meaning of the Bible. "The end," as +Canon Mozley has so strongly shown, "is the test of a progressive +revelation." Jesus Christ, who is himself the Word, toward whom these +laws and prophecies point, and in whom they culminate, is indeed the +perfect Revelation of God. From his judgment there is no appeal; at his +feet the wisest of us must sit and learn the way of life. With his words +all these old Scriptures must be compared; so far as they agree with his +teachings we may take them as eternal truth; those portions of them +which fall below this standard, we may pass by as a partial revelation +upon us no longer binding. He himself has given us, in the Sermon on the +Mount, the method by which we are to test the older Scriptures. When we +refuse to apply his method and go on to declare every portion of those +old records authoritative, we are not honoring him. The mischief and +bane of the traditional theory is that it equalizes things which are +utterly unlike. When it says that "all the books of the Scripture are +equally inspired; all alike are infallible in what they teach," it puts +the Gospels on the same level with Deuteronomy and Ecclesiastes and +Esther. The effect of this is not to lift the latter up, but to drag the +former down. They are not on the same level; it is treason to our Master +Christ to say that they are alike; the one is as much higher than the +other as the heavens are higher than the earth. + +It is here, then, in the simple veracious records that bring before us +the life of Christ, that we have the very Word of God. Whatever else the +four Gospels may or may not be, they certainly do contain the story of +the Life that has been for many centuries the light and the hope of the +world. It is the same unique Person who stands before us in every one of +these narratives,-- + + "So meek, forgiving, godlike, high, + So glorious in humility." + +What fault has criticism to find with this Life? What word or deed is +here ascribed to him that is not worthy of him, that is not like him? Is +it any wonder to us when we read this record through, that the guileless +Nathanael cried out as he communed with him, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of +God, thou art the King of Israel." + +If, then, the New Testament gives us the artless record of the life and +words of this divine Person, the Son of God and the Saviour of the +world; if it brings Him before us and manifests to us, so far as words +can do it, his power and his glory; if it shows us how, by bearing +witness to the truth in his life and in his death, he established in the +world the kingdom which for long ages had been preparing; if it makes +known to us the messages he brought of pardon and salvation; if it gives +us the record of the planting and training of his church in the early +ages, is there any need that I should go about to praise and magnify its +worth to the children of men? If light is worth anything to those who +sit in darkness, or hope to those who are oppressed with tormenting +doubt; if wisdom is to be desired by those who are in perplexity, and +comfort by those who are in trouble, and peace by those whose hearts are +full of strife, and forgiveness by those who bear the burden of sin; if +strength is a good gift to the weak, and rest to the weary, and heaven +to the dying, and the eternal life of God to the fainting soul of man, +then the book that tells us of Jesus Christ and his salvation is not to +be compared with any other book on earth for preciousness; it is the one +book that every one of us ought to know by heart. + +The value of the Bible, the greatness of the Bible, are in this Life +that it discloses to us. "It is upon Jesus," says a modern rationalist, +"that the whole Bible turns. In this lies the value, not only of the New +Testament, a great part of which refers to him directly, but of the Old +Testament as well." Rationalist though he is, no man could have stated +the truth more clearly. "It is upon Jesus that the whole Bible turns." +The Old Testament shows us the way preparing by which the swift feet of +the messengers approach that tell us of his coming; the New Testament +lifts the veil and bids us, Behold the man! The Bible is of value to us, +just in proportion as it helps us to see him, to know him, to trust him. +You may have a cast-iron theory of inspiration with every joint riveted; +you may believe in the infallible accuracy of every vowel point and +every punctuation mark; but if the Bible does not bring you into a vital +union with Jesus Christ, so that you have his mind and follow in his +footsteps, it profiteth you nothing. And if, by your study of it, you +are brought into this saving fellowship, your theories of inspiration +will take care of themselves. + +I fear that we do not always comprehend the fact that it is this divine +Life shining out of its pages that makes the Bible glorious. We strain +our eyes so much in verifying commas, and in trying to prove that the +dot of a certain i is not a fly-speck, that we fail to get much +impression of the meaning or the beauty of the Saviour's life. See those +two critics, with their eyes close to the wonderful "Ecce Homo" of +Correggio, disputing whether there is or is not a visible stitch in the +garment of Christ that ought to be seamless. How red their faces; how +hot their words! Stand back a little, brothers! look away, for a moment, +from the garment's seam; let the infinite pain and the infinite pity and +the infinite yearning of that Face dawn on you for a moment, and you +will cease your quarreling. So, not seldom, do the idolaters of the +letter wholly miss the meaning of the sacred book, and remain in +mournful ignorance of him who himself is the Word. + +There are those to whom the view of the Bible presented in these +chapters seems not only inadequate but destructive. "If the Bible is not +infallible," they say, "it is no more than any other book; we have no +further use for it." In one of the leading church reviews I find these +words, the joint utterance of two eminent American theologians: "A +proved error in Scripture contradicts not only our doctrine but the +Scripture's claims, and therefore its inspiration in making those +claims." [Footnote: _Presbyterian Review_, vol. ii. p. 245.] A +proved error in Scripture stamps the book as fraudulent and worthless! +Worthless it is then! Proved errors there are, scores of them. It is +fatuity, it is imbecility, to deny it. And every man who can find an +error in these old writings has the warrant of these teachers for +throwing the book away. Tens of thousands of ingenuous and fair-minded +men have taken the word of such teachers, and have thrown the book away. +May God forgive the folly of these blind guides! + +But what stupid reasoning is this! "If the Bible is not infallible, it +is worthless." Your watch is not infallible; is it therefore worthless? +Your physician is not infallible; are his services therefore worthless? +Your father is not infallible; are his counsels worthless? Will you say +that the moment you discover in him an error concerning any subject in +heaven or on earth, that moment you will refuse to listen to his +counsel? The church of God is not infallible, and never was, whatever +infatuated ecclesiastics may have claimed for it; are its solemn +services and its inspiring labors and its uplifting fellowships +worthless? + +"A ship on a lee shore," says one, "in the midst of a driving storm, +throws up signal rockets or fires a gun for a pilot. A white sail +emerges from the mist; it is the pilot boat. A man climbs on board, and +the captain gives to him the command of the ship. All his orders are +obeyed implicitly. The ship, laden with a precious cargo and hundreds of +human lives, is confided to a rough-looking man whom no one ever saw +before, who is to guide them through a narrow channel, where to vary a +few fathoms to the right or left will be utter destruction. The pilot is +invested with absolute authority as regards bringing the vessel into +port." [Footnote: _Orthodoxy; its Truths and Errors_, by James +Freeman Clarke, p. 114.] Is this because the man is infallible, because +he has never been detected in holding an erroneous opinion? Doubtless +any of these intelligent passengers could find out, by half an hour's +conversation with him, that his mind was full of crass ignorance and +misconception. And nobody supposes that he is infallible, even as a +pilot. He may make a mistake. What then? Will these passengers gather +around the captain, and demand that he be ordered down from the bridge +and thrown overboard if he disobeys? Will they say, "A pilot who is not +on all subjects infallible is one whom we will not trust?" No; they +believe him to be, not omniscient, but competent and trustworthy, and a +great burden is lifted from their hearts when they see him take command +of the ship. On all other subjects besides religion, people are able to +exercise their common sense; why can they not use a modicum of the same +common sense when they come to deal with religious truth? + +It is not true, as a matter of fact, that the Bible no longer has any +value for those who have ceased to hold the traditional view of it. Not +seldom, indeed, those who have been compelled by overwhelming evidence +to relinquish the traditional view have been driven by the natural +reaction against it to undervalue the Bible, and even to treat it with +contempt and bitterness; but even some of these have come back to it +again and have found in it, when they studied it with open mind, more +truth than they ever before had known. Let me cite an extreme case. I +could take you to a society of free-thinkers, consisting of people who +have long been outspoken in their rejection of all the doctrines of +historical Christianity, many of whom formerly flouted the Bible as a +book of fables, but who are now studying it diligently week by week, in +the most sympathetic spirit. They do not now accept its supernaturalism; +but they believe that as a manual of conduct, as a guide to life, it +excels all other books. The young people of their Sunday-school are told +that the Bible is not like other books; that the men who wrote it knew +more about the human soul and its struggles and its aspirations after +good than any other men who ever lived; and they are besought to attend, +most carefully, to the lessons of life which this ancient book teaches. +I should like to take some of our ultra orthodox friends, who are +pettishly crying out that the Bible, if not infallible, is good for +nothing, and set them down for a Sunday or two in the midst of this +free-thinking Sunday-school; they might learn some things about its +value that they never knew before. + +This incident ought to be of service, also, to those who, having +discovered that the Bible contains human elements, have rushed to the +conclusion that it is no more than any other book, and who, although +they do not cast it from them, hold it off, at arm's length, as it were, +and maintain toward it an attitude of critical superiority. Even these +free-thinkers treat it more fairly. They are learning to approach it +with open mind; they sit down before it with reverent expectancy. The +Bible has a right to this sympathetic treatment. It is not just like +other books. Do not take my word for this; listen rather to the +testimony of one who was known, while he was alive, as the arch-heretic +of New England:-- + +"This collection of books has taken such a hold on the world as no +other. The literature of Greece, which goes up like incense from that +land of temples and heroic deeds, has not half the influence of this +book, from a nation alike despised in ancient and in modern times. It is +read of a Sabbath in all the ten thousand pulpits of our land. In all +the temples of religion is its voice lifted up week by week. The sun +never sets on its gleaming page. It goes equally to the cottage of the +plain man and the palace of the king. It is woven into the literature of +the scholar, and colors the talk of the street. The bark of the merchant +cannot sail the sea without it; no ships of war go to the conflict, but +the Bible is there. It enters men's closets; mingles in all their grief +and cheerfulness of life. The affianced maiden prays God in Scripture +for strength in her new duties; men are married by Scripture. The Bible +attends them in their sickness, when the fever of the world is on them. +The aching head finds a softer pillow when the Bible lies underneath. +The mariner escaping from shipwreck clutches this first of his treasures +and keeps it sacred to God. It goes with the peddler in his crowded +pack; cheers him at eventide when he sits down dusty and fatigued; +brightens the freshness of his morning face. It blesses us when we are +born, gives names to half Christendom; rejoices with us; has sympathy +for our mourning; tempers our grief to finer issues. It is the better +part of our sermons. It lifts man above himself; our best of uttered +prayers are in its storied speech, wherewith our fathers and the +patriarchs prayed. The timid man, about awaking from this dream of life, +looks through the glass of Scripture and his eye grows bright; he does +not fear to stand alone, to tread the way unknown and distant, to take +the death angel by the hand and bid farewell to wife and babes and home. +Men rest on this their dearest hopes; it tells them of God and of his +blessed Son, of earthly duties and of heavenly rest." [Footnote: +Theodore Parker, _Discourses on Religion_.] + +This is not mere rhetoric; it is simplest truth of human experience. How +is it possible for any man to treat this book just as he would any other +book? He ought to come to its perusal with the expectation of finding in +it wisdom and light and life. He must not stultify his reason and stifle +his moral sense when he reads it; he must keep his mind awake and his +conscience active; but there is treasure here if he will search for it; +search he must, yet the only right attitude before it is one of +reverence and trust. Any man of ripe wisdom and high character, who has +been known to you all your life, whose judgment you have verified, whose +goodness you have witnessed and experienced, commands your respectful +attention the moment he begins to speak. You do not believe him to be +infallible, but you listen to what he says with trustfulness; you expect +to find it true. To say that you listen to him as you do to every other +man is not the fact; the posture of your mind in his presence is +different from that in which you stand before most other men. It ought +to be. He has gained, by his probity, the power to speak to you with +authority. The Bible has gained the same power. You do not use it fairly +when you use it as you do every other book. + +There is the nation's flag proudly flying from the summit of the +Capitol. It may be a banner that was borne upon the battlefield, +decorated now with well-mended rents, and with stains of carnage. +"Behold it!" cries the idolater. "It is absolutely faultless in +perfection and beauty! There is not a blemish on its folds, there is not +an imperfection in its web; every thread in warp and woof is flawless; +every seam is absolutely straight; every star is geometrically accurate; +every proportion is exact; the man who denies it is a traitor!" + +"Absurd!" replies the iconoclast. "See the holes and the stains; there +is not one straight seam; there is not a star that is in perfect form; +ravel it, and you will find no thread in warp or woof that is flawless; +nay, you may even discover shreds of shoddy mixed with the fine fibre. +Your flag is nothing more than any other old piece of bunting, and if +you think it is, you are a fool." + +Nay, good friends, you are both wrong. The blemishes are there; it would +be fanaticism to deny them; and he who says that no man can be loyal to +the nation who will not profess that this banner is immaculate is +setting up a fantastic standard of patriotism. But, on the other hand, +this flag is something more than any other old piece of bunting, and he +who thinks it something more is not a fool. It is the symbol of liberty; +it is the emblem of sovereignty; it is the pledge of protection; it is +the sign and guarantee of justice and order and peace. What memories +cluster round it, of dauntless heroism, and holy sacrifice, and noble +consecration! What hopes are gleaming from its stars and fluttering in +its shining folds--hopes of a day when wars shall be no more and all +mankind shall be one brotherhood! The man to whom the flag of his +country is no more than any other piece of weather-beaten bunting is a +man without a country. + +Is not my parable already interpreted? Are not the idolaters who make it +treason to disbelieve a single word of the Bible, and the iconoclasts +who treat it as nothing better than any other book, equally far from the +truth? Is it not the part of wisdom to use the book rationally, but +reverently; to refrain from worshiping the letter, but to rejoice in the +gifts of the Spirit which it proffers? The same divine influence which +illumines and sanctifies its pages is waiting to enlighten our minds +that we may comprehend its words, and to prepare our hearts that we may +receive its messages. Some things hard to understand are here, but the +Spirit of truth can make plain to us all that we need to know. No man +wisely opens the book who does not first lift up his heart for help to +find in it the way of life, and to him who studies it in this spirit it +will show the salvation of God. + + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? *** + +This file should be named 7wwrt10.txt or 7wwrt10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7wwrt11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7wwrt10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A +preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment +and editing by those who wish to do so. + +Most people start at our Web sites at: +http://gutenberg.net or +http://promo.net/pg + +These Web sites include award-winning information about Project +Gutenberg, including how to donate, how to help produce our new +eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter (free!). + + +Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement +can get to them as follows, and just download by date. This is +also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement, as the +indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an +announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter. + +http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext04 or +ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext04 + +Or /etext03, 02, 01, 00, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90 + +Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want, +as it appears in our Newsletters. + + +Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) + +We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The +time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours +to get any eBook selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright +searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. Our +projected audience is one hundred million readers. If the value +per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 +million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text +files per month: 1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000+ +We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002 +If they reach just 1-2% of the world's population then the total +will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year's end. + +The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks! +This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, +which is only about 4% of the present number of computer users. + +Here is the briefest record of our progress (* means estimated): + +eBooks Year Month + + 1 1971 July + 10 1991 January + 100 1994 January + 1000 1997 August + 1500 1998 October + 2000 1999 December + 2500 2000 December + 3000 2001 November + 4000 2001 October/November + 6000 2002 December* + 9000 2003 November* +10000 2004 January* + + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created +to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +As of February, 2002, contributions are being solicited from people +and organizations in: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, +Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, +Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, +Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New +Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, +Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South +Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West +Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. + +We have filed in all 50 states now, but these are the only ones +that have responded. + +As the requirements for other states are met, additions to this list +will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states. +Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state. + +In answer to various questions we have received on this: + +We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally +request donations in all 50 states. If your state is not listed and +you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have, +just ask. + +While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are +not yet registered, we know of no prohibition against accepting +donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to +donate. + +International donations are accepted, but we don't know ANYTHING about +how to make them tax-deductible, or even if they CAN be made +deductible, and don't have the staff to handle it even if there are +ways. + +Donations by check or money order may be sent to: + +Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +PMB 113 +1739 University Ave. +Oxford, MS 38655-4109 + +Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment +method other than by check or money order. + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by +the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization with EIN +[Employee Identification Number] 64-622154. Donations are +tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law. As fund-raising +requirements for other states are met, additions to this list will be +made and fund-raising will begin in the additional states. + +We need your donations more than ever! + +You can get up to date donation information online at: + +http://www.gutenberg.net/donation.html + + +*** + +If you can't reach Project Gutenberg, +you can always email directly to: + +Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com> + +Prof. Hart will answer or forward your message. + +We would prefer to send you information by email. + + +**The Legal Small Print** + + +(Three Pages) + +***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS**START*** +Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. +They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with +your copy of this eBook, even if you got it for free from +someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our +fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement +disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how +you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to. + +*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK +By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm +eBook, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept +this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive +a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this eBook by +sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person +you got it from. If you received this eBook on a physical +medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. + +ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM EBOOKS +This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBooks, +is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart +through the Project Gutenberg Association (the "Project"). +Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright +on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and +distribute it in the United States without permission and +without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth +below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook +under the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. + +Please do not use the "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark to market +any commercial products without permission. + +To create these eBooks, the Project expends considerable +efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain +works. Despite these efforts, the Project's eBooks and any +medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other +things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other +intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged +disk or other eBook medium, a computer virus, or computer +codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. + +LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES +But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, +[1] Michael Hart and the Foundation (and any other party you may +receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm eBook) disclaims +all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including +legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR +UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, +INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE +OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE +POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. + +If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of +receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) +you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that +time to the person you received it from. If you received it +on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and +such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement +copy. If you received it electronically, such person may +choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to +receive it electronically. + +THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS +TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT +LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A +PARTICULAR PURPOSE. + +Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or +the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the +above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you +may have other legal rights. + +INDEMNITY +You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart, the Foundation, +and its trustees and agents, and any volunteers associated +with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm +texts harmless, from all liability, cost and expense, including +legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the +following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this eBook, +[2] alteration, modification, or addition to the eBook, +or [3] any Defect. + +DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" +You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically, or by +disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this +"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, +or: + +[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this + requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the + eBook or this "small print!" statement. You may however, + if you wish, distribute this eBook in machine readable + binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, + including any form resulting from conversion by word + processing or hypertext software, but only so long as + *EITHER*: + + [*] The eBook, when displayed, is clearly readable, and + does *not* contain characters other than those + intended by the author of the work, although tilde + (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may + be used to convey punctuation intended by the + author, and additional characters may be used to + indicate hypertext links; OR + + [*] The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at + no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent + form by the program that displays the eBook (as is + the case, for instance, with most word processors); + OR + + [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at + no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the + eBook in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC + or other equivalent proprietary form). + +[2] Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this + "Small Print!" statement. + +[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20% of the + gross profits you derive calculated using the method you + already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of +public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed +in machine readable form. + +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain materials, or royalty free copyright licenses. +Money should be paid to the: +"Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +[Portions of this eBook's header and trailer may be reprinted only +when distributed free of all fees. Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 by +Michael S. Hart. Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be +used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be +they hardware or software or any other related product without +express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS*Ver.02/11/02*END* + |